The Beginning
by Darth Frodo
Summary: What drives Danny into the Ghost Portal? What do he and his friends do once they discover his powers? Why doesn't he tell his parents? Follow Danny through his acceptance of his powers and the hard questions that go along with them.
1. Plans to Fix a Broken Dream

A/N: Alright, I've always wondered about all the little details that happened when Danny first got his powers, like the reactions of his friends or what Danny was thinking as he first used his powers. So, here's my shot at depicting the accident that changed Danny's life forever. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom and I won't for the rest of the story, so this'll be the last time I state this.

* * *

**The Beginning**

Chapter One  
Plans to Fix a Broken Dream

"Danny! Danny come down here! There's something you have to see!" a dark haired boy with large bright blue eyes heard from the basement. He looked up from his math book at his red headed sister doing her homework across the kitchen table.

"They'll turn you into a ghost hunter yet Danny," his sister joked.

"Ha ha, very funny. Don't they get the hint that I don't want to spend the rest of my life hunting figments of their imagination?"

"Obviously Dad won't accept that you can't possibly want to follow in his footsteps. He wants to make you into a mini-Jack; I heard him and Mom talking about it last night."

"Great," Danny mumbled.

"Danny! Come on!" his father called again.

"You'd better go," his sister advised.

Danny stood up from his chair and headed towards the lab in the basement. His parents built the lab downstairs where they could invent many different devices and weapons for identifying and hunting ghosts. Danny had to admit that they were brilliant scientists and knew more than he could ever hope to, but they wasted their talents on their obsession with ghost hunting. He and his sister Jazz had always talked bitterly about how rich they could be if their parents dedicated themselves to an invention that would help mankind instead of making them look like freaks.

His parents had always wanted their children to carry on the family business, but neither of them were interested. In fact, neither of them even believed that ghosts existed. Their parents, however, were completely blind to their remarks and just thought they were joking. His parents had been spending a lot of time working on Jazz, trying to get her interested in ghosts, but they must have given up and moved on to Danny instead. For a few months now they had been calling Danny down to the lab almost every day so they could show him their new invention, and Danny was getting quite sick of it.

But for the past week, Danny hadn't been called down to the lab at all and his parents only emerged for meals and sleep. He had to admit he was curious as to what they were working so hard on, but he didn't dare enter the lab unless asked. It had all started one night when they were all having dinner and Jazz once again interrupted her parents' nightly discussion about ghosts by saying that ghosts don't exist. This spurned a great argument between the adults and the kids. These arguments weren't uncommon in the Fenton household, but during this argument, Jazz hit a soft spot. She pointed out that in all the years their parents had been hunting ghosts, they'd never seen or heard of a single ghost, let alone capture one. His parents went quiet and didn't say anything else all dinner. Jazz and Danny both agreed that they needed to apologize at breakfast next morning, but when their parents came downstairs they were bright and cheery, as if nothing had happened the night before. They ate quickly and then headed to the lab and stayed down there until dinner. Thus his parents' obsessive schedule was developed. It seemed that Jazz's comment, if anything, had encouraged his parents to work even harder.

Now it seemed that his parents had finally finished what they were working on and wanted to show it off to Danny. He figured it probably was an invention that had something to do with proving that ghosts exist, or something along those lines to counter Jazz's comment. Either way, Danny had to admit secretly, it would be interesting.

He walked down the stairs and beheld the lab with white floors and walls. Beakers filled with glowing green liquid, books, papers, blueprints, and other lab equipment covered the tables that were spread out all around the lab. Danny looked to his right to find his parents standing next to a large circle opening that lead to a short tunnel. Wires and cords wound all around the large opening and hooked to many outlets and other machines.

He looked at his mother and father quizzically, not quite sure what this tunnel was. His mother and father were dressed in their usual hazmat suits, which they constantly wore, even in public, to Danny's extreme embarrassment. His father was a big man with blue eyes and dark hair with gray around the roots. His mother, on the other hand, was a small, thin woman with short red hair and large purple eyes.

"Danny my boy!" his father boomed joyously. "You're about to witness the greatest invention mankind has ever seen!" Danny seriously doubted that. "Behold, the Fenton Ghost Portal!" he announced proudly.

"The Fenton what?" Danny asked.

"Ghost Portal sweetheart," his mother explained in a loving voice. "This is a portal connecting the Ghost Zone with this world."

Danny had heard many stories about this mythical Ghost Zone from his parents. According to them, there was a whole other world where ghosts lived. Occasionally ghosts would escape from the Ghost Zone, thus ending up in the Real World. Their job as ghost hunters was to capture these ghosts and put them back into the Ghost Zone. However, since they never had access to the Ghost Zone, they couldn't catch ghosts, which they constantly told Jazz in their defense when she asked why they'd never caught one before.

"We've been trying to build one for the last twenty years, ever since our failed portal in college. After that dinner conversation, we decided it was time for another try! We think we finally worked out all the glitches!" his Dad elaborated, his voice filled with pride and joy.

"Just think Danny, once this portal is operational we can go travel into the Ghost Zone and do all sorts of research on ghosts."

"I thought you wanted to catch them?" Danny asked.

"Well, yes, but the only reason we wanted to catch them was so that we could do research on them. Ghosts are fascinating beings, and there's a lot we could learn about them, but no one has really gotten close enough to one to find out. Oh there are so many questions I want answered! Can a ghost bleed? Can they cry? What do their blood or tears look like? What allows them to go intangible or invisible? What other mystical abilities do they have? Just so many questions! And now we have the means to find the answers. Once we get this portal running, we can capture a ghost and bring it back here for experimentation. Oh, this is so exciting! Who knows, maybe ghost blood could be the next cure for cancer?"

"Well dear, we'll never know unless we activate this portal," Jack stated impatiently, obviously frustrated that his wife wouldn't stop talking.

"Right, of course," his mother replied, pulling the hood to her suit over her head and putting on her red goggles. "Danny, you may want to stand back. We don't know what will happen and you don't have a safety suit on."

Danny gladly stepped back. His parents were both holding onto two ends of an extension cord while staring expectantly at the portal. Danny could feel the tension and excitement growing in the room as they stood silently, waiting to turn it on.

"Alright, this is it. The moment we've been waiting twenty years for," his father announced and together he and his wife hooked the two cords together. Electric shocks started emanating across the portal, and then it died. His father grabbed the cords and unplugged them, and then plugged them into each other again, but this time nothing happened.

"Maddie, go check the plugs. Make sure they're all plugged in."

His mother ran around the room, checking all the outlets and extension cord plugs, but everything was connected correctly. Jack tried replugging the cords over and over again, but nothing happened. Finally, his father dropped the connected cord and placed an arm around his mother's waist as they both walked slowly out of the lab. He heard his dad mumble dejectedly "Why didn't it work?"

Danny stared at the portal. He felt sure that the reason nothing happened was because there really was no Ghost Zone and that his parents weren't failures like they believed, but as much as he would like to give his parents an ego boost, he would never tell them that. They would rather believe that they messed up somehow than to let go of the childish delusion that ghosts exist.

Danny walked towards the stairs and gave one final look to the portal at the foot of the stairs before shutting out the light and heading up the stairs.

* * *

The next morning his parents never even went downstairs for breakfast. They didn't even go to the lab. They simply remained in their bedroom, lost in their own thoughts and feelings of failure. Danny and Jazz agreed that morning not to mention anything about the portal, or even ghosts until their parents were back to normal. And if their parents happened to mention ghosts, they wouldn't argue about them and would just politely go along with anything they said.

Danny started walking dejectedly to the bus stop as Jazz got in her car to drive off to school. She never drove him to school, and Danny was used to it by now. When he first started high school he felt angry at her for making him ride the bus every morning, but he'd gotten used to it. They had separate lives at high school, and he could tell that she didn't want her baby brother hanging over her shoulder all the time. However, the fact that he had to walk to the bus wasn't what depressed him; his parents' attitude did. He wished there was something he could do for his parents, but he didn't know what. For some strange reason he thought that somehow he could help, but he didn't know how. The only thing that would cheer them up right now would be to fix the portal, but if his parents couldn't do it, how could he? How could he fix something that didn't even exist?

"Danny!" a girl's voice called from behind. Danny looked back and saw his one of his best friends Sam Manson running down the sidewalk. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice that he walked by Sam's door without knocking. She caught up with him and looked at him coldly with her dark purple eyes.

"What?" Danny asked.

"So, is there a reason you're avoiding me?" she asked. She had short black hair with some of it pulled into a ponytail at the top of her head. She was dressed in all purple and black, since Sam was the resident Goth at Casper High. Technically she was the only Goth at Casper High, but that didn't stop her.

"No."

"Really? Then why did you pass by my house without knocking? Remember, we walk to the bus stop together, like we've been doing since Kindergarten? And it's not like it's that hard, since we live next door to each other!"

"Sorry. I was really preoccupied. I didn't even notice I'd passed your house."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when Tucker gets here. I don't want to say everything twice."

They walked in silence to the bus stop where they saw Tucker Foley. He was a technology loving African American who covered his short black hair with a red beret. Danny couldn't remember a day where Tucker wasn't wearing his hat. He'd never admit it, but he loved that hat more than all the technology in the world, and for Tucker, that was saying a lot.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker had been friends since Kindergarten. They all met on the first day of Kindergarten because their parents had forgotten to pick them up. Sam's thought that the butler was going to do it (the Manson's were insanely wealthy) and had left for lunch, Tucker's were both working and had forgotten to call a nanny, and Danny's were in the middle of some brilliant invention that ended up not working, completely forgetting about their children. The three of them spent a good hour together after school before the school was able to reach their parents. Since then, they'd become the best of friends and never did anything without the other. They had no secrets between them and had shared everything together. Lately they had been sharing the burden of parents and the status of biggest loser at school, since none of the popular kids could really determine which of them was the biggest loser. And their parents, well Danny wasn't the only one experiencing the push from parents to be something he didn't want to be. Tucker's family wanted him to go out for sports, like his father, but he much rather preferred technology. Sam's parents simply wanted her to wear something other than black or purple, but she claimed her individuality wouldn't allow her to succumb to their temptations.

"Hey Danny, why so glum?" Tucker asked, sensing Danny's depressing disposition.

"You know how my parents have been locking themselves up in the lab for the past couple of weeks?" His two friends nodded. "Well, they finally finished what they were working on. They were making a portal to the Ghost Zone." His friends didn't even look concerned or confused at Danny's mention of the Ghost Zone. They, like Danny, had gotten used to the Fentons' strange obsession with ghost hunting and had thus become familiar with many "common" ghost terms, the Ghost Zone being one of them. "My dad said they've wanted to make it for twenty years after their first one didn't work, and they'd finally figured it out."

"And let me guess, it didn't work," Tucker commented.

"Nope. It just sparked and then died. I've never seen my parents so depressed. Usually when something doesn't work they go to bed and then the next morning they're back downstairs trying to figure it out, but not today. By the time we left for school they were still up in their room. They didn't even come down for breakfast."

"Wow. They must really be bummed," Sam stated as the bus arrived. They climbed on and took their usual seat.

"So then why are you so down?" Tucker asked.

"It's just that they've been working so hard, and they told me before they turned it on all the stuff they plan to do with it, but they won't be able to now. It's their dream to make contact with the Ghost Zone, and last night I think their dream was shattered. I just feel so bad for them."

"Just think of it this way Danny, it's not like you can do anything," Tucker advised.

"But that's just the thing, I feel like there is something I can do. I don't know why, but I feel like there's some way that I can make this all better, that I can fix the portal, but I don't know how. I mean, I'm not really sure that there is such a thing as a Ghost Zone to connect to! Plus, if my parents can't figure it out, then there's no way I'll be able to."

"Danny, you're parents are going through a tough time and they're going to need your support. They'll want to see you happy. If you really want to help them, then just be there for them and be happy. Eventually they'll see that all isn't lost. They'll be back to normal in no time, but you can't let them see that you're sad. They'll think they failed not only themselves, but you as well, and that could make things even worse."

"Yeah, you're probably right Sam, but I just can't shake the feeling that there's something more that I can do."

* * *

Danny tried to cheer himself up so he would be happy when he got home, but the more he tried, the more he felt like he could and needed to do something more. He just wished the day would be over so he could go home and try to figure things out. He was just about to head to the last class of the day when he ran into Dash Baxter, the quarterback of the football team, the most popular guy in school, and the biggest bully Casper High had ever seen and his favorite victim was Danny.

"Hey Fen-tun! You wanna watch where you're going?"

"Sorry Dash, I didn't see you there."

"Well that's no excuse Fenton. I think you have a lesson to learn," he threatened, popping his knuckles.

"Not today Dash, I'm not in the mood," Danny remarked sadly, trying to maneuver his way around him and his cronies.

"Which makes the beating even better," Dash said smiling.

Moments later Danny found himself struggling to pull himself out of the locker. He'd actually gotten quite good at it, since Dash's favorite way to torment him was to shove him into his locker. He rushed to class and made it just in time.

"Good morning class," Mr. Lancer greeted. "Today we will continue our study of Romeo and Juliet…"

Danny's mind wandered, as it usually did in Lancer's class. He started thinking about his parent problem. As much as he valued Sam's advice, he knew he wouldn't really be happy until he did something more drastic to help them. He spent the entire class thinking about everything he knew about ghosts, which he realized wasn't very much. He thought that maybe his parents had over-looked something simple, something he could easily find and point out, but no such luck. He just didn't have the knowledge needed. By the end of the class he decided that his only option so far would be to break his deal with Jazz and propose his theory about it being something simple to his parents, hoping that it would cheer them up.

He walked out of class, hoping that his new idea would work when Sam tapped him on his shoulder.

"I've thought of a way to help your parents. You said they'd be happy once the portal worked, so maybe they overlooked something, something really easy that you can spot."

"Or maybe the Ghost Zone doesn't exist?" Tucker stated, trying to bring the three of them back to reality.

"Alright, well _if_ there's such a thing as a Ghost Zone, then maybe there's something they could have overlooked?"

"That's what I was thinking. I spent all class trying to think of everything I know about ghosts and the Ghost Zone, but I couldn't think of anything useful."

"Well, that's why I was thinking, what if you went and checked it out? Just poked around inside the portal. Maybe there's something there that can help you."

Danny's eyes brightened at the thought. "That's brilliant! Let's go right now!" Danny yelled as he ran to his locker and threw it open in haste, Sam and Tucker following behind him, rolling their eyes.

"Danny, I know you're really excited and all but you're forgetting one very important thing," she stated.

"What's that?"

"We're still in the middle of school."

Danny blinked and then blushed slightly. "Right, I uh, I knew that. I meant, after, right after school," he replied, turning towards the locker and taking his books out before turning around and heading towards class. And though he had to wait, everything looked so much brighter, so much happier. He was going to help his parents.

* * *

A/N: So, I hope this wasn't too bad. Please read and review and flame if you'd like. I love hearing comments!


	2. The Accident

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! So here's the next chapter and based on the chapter title I'm sure you can tell what this is going to be about! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Two  
The Accident

Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked down into the lab. There lay the portal, untouched since the night before. His parents had left a note on the fridge saying that they weren't home and that they needed to leave to clear their minds. Jazz was at a study party with her friends, so it was just the three of them, which was perfect. Now they wouldn't be disturbed.

"So this is it," Tucker stated as they beheld the portal.

"Yup, the source of all my problems," Danny responded.

Danny started heading towards it when Sam grabbed his shoulder and held him back.

"Wait, I think you should probably put one of the suits on, just incase."

"Good thinking." He walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a white jumpsuit with black gloves, boots, belt, and collar. He zipped it up and walked cautiously over to the portal. He didn't know why, but all of a sudden he had a bad feeling, like what he was doing would be dangerous. At the same time, he felt like this was exactly what he needed to be doing.

"Wait, Danny, I'm sorry but this has to go," Sam interrupted as she walked over to him, ripping the sticker of Jack's face off the chest of his jumpsuit.

"Thanks," he replied with a smile as he continued towards the portal. He stepped cautiously over the threshold and into the short tunnel. His fiends stood back, looking anxious and frightened. Sam was verbally abusing herself for suggesting that he take a look. This was too dangerous and she didn't like it. She looked over at Tucker and his expression showed the same thing.

"Danny, maybe this is a bad idea. I don't know if I like this," Sam warned, her eyes wide with worry.

"Relax guys. It's broken, so what could possibly happen?"

"I dunno, I think Sam's right. I don't think you should be in there," Tucker added.

"Guys, this is the one way to help my parents. They've done so much for me and this is one way to repay them. Don't worry. I'll be careful, I promise. Nothing's going to happen."

He walked in, now feeling scared and shaky. He knew he was feeling the same feelings of worry that his friends were, but he knew he had to do this. He felt almost torn in half. Half of him wanted to delve further in, feeling like he was supposed to be there, helping his parents, but the other half wanted to run quickly out of the portal and just learn to live with his parents' depression. He pushed the thoughts out of his head and started looking above him at all the wires and circuitry. Could one of the wires be loose or faulty? He wouldn't put it past his parents to forget to check and make sure that the wires were all plugged in and good. Maybe they accidentally crossed two of them wrong or something? Well, it would sure take a while to check them all, since they ran under all the metal plates and sometimes over them.

As he was entranced by the number of things that could possibly be wrong with just the circuitry, he tripped over a cord on the ground and caught himself on the wall. He heard his friends gasp from outside and turned around and waved at them, indicating that he was okay. Then he started to hear loud beeping as lights came on inside the portal. He looked at where his hand landed when he braced his fall. It was right over a button that read "On". _Wow, they never even turned it on. I knew it was something simple like that_ he thought.

Then the portal started to spark around the edges as a metallic voice rang through the lab.

"Fenton Ghost Portal activated." Danny realized he was in serious danger.

"Opening door to the Ghost Zone in 3…" He turned around and started running out.

"2…" He could see he wasn't going to make it. He was done for. He looked at his friends, their eyes wide with fear.

"1."

The portal glowed green and Danny screamed in pain as he was enveloped in ghostly energy. His friends covered their eyes at the blinding flash of light. When it subsided they opened their eyes to see a dark figure fly out of the portal and into the opposite wall. They ran towards him, afraid of what they'd find. They approached him and Sam and Tucker gasped. Danny's hair had turned snow white and the colors of his jumpsuit were inverted. His face was extremely pale and he wasn't breathing.

"Oh no," Sam stuttered sadly, tears falling from her eyes. "No, please no."

"Danny? Can you hear me? Danny? Please answer," Tucker stammered, his voice breaking from sorrow and fear.

Sam bent over him and placed a finger on his neck to check his pulse. She pulled her finger away from shock at touching his skin: it was ice cold. She placed her finger back and waited for a pulse, but none came. She placed her head on his chest and didn't feel his chest moving, didn't feel or hear a heartbeat.

"Tucker, his heart's not beating!" she yelled through her frantic sobs.

Tucker bent down and checked for himself. "He's not breathing! Do you know how to do CPR?"

"How can you do CPR on someone without a heartbeat?" she sobbed frantically, tears pouring out her eyes.

"But he can't be…he can't be…" Tucker stammered through his sobs, not able to admit it.

"Don't say it!" Sam yelled. "He's not dead! He's not!"

"But Sam, he has no heartbeat and no pulse! He can't possibly be…alive."

"No! No!" Sam cried. "You promised Danny! You promised everything would be fine! You said nothing would happen!" She threw herself onto Tucker and cried into his shoulder.

Tucker removed his hat in respect, when he heard a groan. Sam lifted her head out of Tucker's shoulder and looked at Danny. They saw him move slightly and he groaned again. Sam checked for his pulse again and still couldn't find one.

"I don't understand," Sam stated, puzzled. "He still doesn't have a pulse."

"Let's take him up to his room. He's obviously still alive, even though he doesn't look it. Plus, he's as cold as ice; he needs to be put under some covers."

"Alright, you take his head, I'll take his feet," Sam directed as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

Tucker bent down to pick him up by the arms and pulled up, surprised at how light he was. "Sam, he's lighter than my PDA!"

Sam grabbed his legs and lifted, finding it to be no trouble at all. "I really don't like this Tucker. Something weird happened."

They carried Danny up to his room and placed him under the covers. They got a warm cloth and placed it on his forehead. Then they sat next to him, hoping for him to recover, to comfort their nerves. Sam continued to check his pulse, to still find that there was none, and he still didn't look like he was breathing at all.

"It's like he's a ghost," Tucker said aloud.

* * *

Danny groaned and moved his head. He thought he heard someone say his name. He groaned again. What happened? The last thing he remembered was being in the ghost portal and then he saw a bright green light, and then pain. Lots and lots of pain.

His eyes shot open, suddenly remembering what happened. He saw he was in his bedroom, and his two friends were on either side of his bed, staring at him in worry.

"D-danny?" Sam asked shakily.

"What happened?" Danny asked. He gasped. His voice sounded weird, like it had an echo to it. His friends obviously noticed it too, because they started staring at him, frightened.

"What happened?" he repeated.

"We don't know," Tucker replied, his voice shaking. "You were in the portal and then it turned on and you started screaming. Then you were thrown out and we ran over to you and…well…you should probably look in a mirror."

Sam handed Danny a mirror and he gasped. His hair was snow white and his eyes were glowing green. His skin was extremely pale and the colors of his jumpsuit were inverted.

"Oh my God, what happened to me?" Danny asked as he touched his face in shock, making sure it was his. He gasped as he realized his face felt ice cold to the touch.

"We don't know," Sam repeated. "But, just let me check something first." She reached for his neck and waited. "Danny, I don't feel a pulse."

"What are you talking about? Of course I have a pulse." He put his hand to his neck and waited, but he didn't feel anything, not even the slightest trace of a heartbeat. "Oh my God," he stuttered, moving his hand around his neck, to his chest, trying to find a heartbeat. "I don't have a pulse. Oh my God. I-I don't have a pulse. Am I…am I d-dead? Am I a…a ghost?"

"But Danny, ghosts don't exist," Tucker reasoned.

"Do you have another explanation for this? How else can I be talking to you without a pulse?"

"I don't know, but I think you need to calm down," Tucker advised.

"I can't calm down! I don't have a pulse!" Danny yelled. Then he felt a slight tingle throughout his body and noticed that Tucker and Sam started getting higher, and soon he was staring at the inside of the bed. He jumped up and then looked down. He was floating. "Oh my God. I'm floating. What's going on? Pull me down!"

Sam and Tucker each grabbed a leg and pulled him back down onto the bed.

"What happened?"

"You-you turned all clear and blue and then you just started…falling through the bed. Then you came out and started floating," Sam explained.

"I am a ghost. Oh my God. That portal thing, it killed me, and now I'm stuck here as a ghost! What if my parents find me?"

"I think we have other things to worry about right now," Tucker said calmly.

"Like what?"

"Why we can't see you," Sam answered.

"What do you mean? I'm sitting on the bed looking at you." He looked down and realized he couldn't see the rest of his body. "Help! I've gone invisible! How do I go back?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Tucker asked. "You're the ghost."

"Ha ha, very funny," he said as he became visible again. "What am I going to do? I don't want to be a ghost! I'm not ready to be dead!"

"Well, I have some good news," Tucker stated, trying to lighten the mood. "The portal's working."

"Oh good Tucker. I'm glad I sacrificed my life for the good of ghost research," Danny replied sarcastically. Then two rings of light formed around his waist and traveled up and down his body. His black jumpsuit turned back into a white t-shirt and jeans. His skin regained its color, his eyes turned back to blue, and his hair returned to its regular black color.

Danny looked down at his body, seeing the regular clothes. He picked up the mirror and examined his face, exactly the way it had always been. He placed his fingers on his neck and felt a pulse.

"I have a pulse!" he cried with joy. "I'm alive!"

Sam placed her hand on his neck. His skin still felt cold, but it was no longer icy. She also felt a pulse beating under her fingers.

"Oh Danny!" she cried as she gave him a huge hug.

Tucker joined the hug, grateful that his friend wasn't dead.

"But, Danny, what happened?" Sam asked, pulling away from the hug and looking at him quizzically, Tucker following in suit.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. As thankful as he was to be back in his original body, the whole thing was scaring him. If he couldn't go back, then he would at least know that he was a ghost, and then things would be simpler. But now, what was he? What just happened? What really happened during the accident? He could easily have died; it sure hurt enough. He really thought he was going to die, so maybe he did? But that wouldn't explain how he was now alive.

"Alright, just to clarify this, we all saw what just happened?" Tucker asked and received puzzled looks from Danny and Sam. "We all saw Danny with white hair, glowing green eyes, falling through the bed, floating, and turning invisible, right?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Sam asked.

"Of course we saw it! I did it!"

"Alright, I just had to make sure."

The three of them remained silent, lost in thought, trying to explain what happened.

"Danny, what if you try to float again, or turn invisible, or whatever you do?" Sam suggested.

"What good would that do?" Danny asked.

"I don't know, give us more information," she replied.

"But I don't even know how I did it in the first place," Danny protested.

"Just try, concentrate," Tucker advised. "That's what they always suggest in the movies."

Danny closed his eyes and started to think. He didn't really want to try floating. He figured he could do it before because he was so light, but not anymore. He didn't really want to test invisibility, just incase he couldn't find a way to make himself visible again, so he decided on intangibility. He stuck his hand under the covers and then tried to imagine the covers falling right through his hand. He stared at his hand, willing it to phase through the covers. He was about to give up when he felt a tingle in his hand as the covers fell straight through it. He lifted his hand up to examine it and his friends looked at it in awe. It still had a definite form, but it was transparent with a bluish tint.

"Alright, I'm officially freaked out now," Danny stated as he plunged his hand into his bed, finding no objections as it passed easily through the solid mattress. He removed it and started sticking it through random things near his bed, including Tucker.

"Geez Danny that's cold!" Tucker complained as he felt Danny's hand go through his arm.

"Alright, we need to figure this out," Sam suggested and Danny stopped goofing off, his hand still intangible, since he didn't know how to return it to normal.

"So," Tucker began "we've discovered that Danny's a ghost and a human, but while he's human, he has ghost powers. So, I say you're half ghost, half human and that you have ghost powers."

"How can someone be half ghost?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I think that's kinda impossible," Danny added, still looking at his intangible hand.

"You've got a better idea?" Tucker asked them. They both mumbled that they didn't. "If Danny can be a ghost and a human at the same time, then he's obviously half ghost, half human, with added perks."

"Does it really matter what he is? The point is that he has ghost powers and that he can turn into a ghost. Danny, try to look like a ghost again," Sam commanded.

"I keep telling you guys, I don't know how. I still haven't gotten my hand back to normal!" he said frustrated, showing them his still intangible hand.

"Come on Danny, I know you can do it. If you can turn back to human then there has to be a way to go ghost. Just think about being your ghost half now instead of your human half."

Danny thought exactly that, but he didn't feel anything happen. He tried to remember what he looked like when he was a ghost, the jumpsuit, the pale skin, the snow white hair, the glowing green eyes…

He felt a tingle around his waist and looked down to see two white rings. They moved in opposite directions, changing his shirt and jeans into the black jumpsuit. He grabbed the mirror and saw his eyes change from blue to green, his hair from black to white.

"Cool," Tucker stated in awe.

Danny smiled as a faint red color drifted up his cheeks, contrasting greatly with his pale skin tone. He thought about floating and decided to try doing it. He threw the covers off him and lifted himself out of bed. He was amazed at how easy it was for him to get out of bed, he felt so light.

"Wow, that's weird. I felt like I'm a hundred pounds lighter."

"You probably are," Tucker announced. "When we carried you upstairs we found out you were super light and ice cold."

Danny walked around his room, getting used to the feeling of being practically weightless. "Hey, check this out!" Danny bragged as he started walking like he was on the moon, with big, high leaps into the air that carried him far across his room.

"You look like you're on the Moon," Sam described.

"I feel like I'm on the Moon," Danny elaborated. He stopped and then jumped into the air, but he didn't come down.

"Danny, you're floating!" Sam yelled.

"You know, it's not that bad when you know what you're doing," Danny remarked, looking below him. He started looking down so far that he summer-salted in the air. "Okay, but that's bad," he mentioned after ending up right-side-up.

"So, if you can float, does that mean you can fly?" Tucker asked.

"Let's find out," Danny smiled mischievously as he moved towards Tucker and Sam and grabbed them under his arms and lifted them into the air.

"Oh no, Danny, no…this isn't good!" Sam stuttered as she shut her eyes as Danny flew in circles around the room.

"Yahoo!" Tucker yelled. "Danny this is awesome!"

Danny put them down on the bed as he continued to float behind them. "Sam, we're back on the ground. Well, actually the bed, but same difference," Tucker remarked back.

Sam opened her eyes and noticed that they were indeed standing on Danny's bed facing the wall. She looked up at Danny, who had his eyes shut and looked like he was concentrating really hard.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Sam asked him. His whole body went intangible and then suddenly Sam and Tucker felt tingles in their bodies as he turned them intangible. "Oh no, oh no. Daniel Fenton, don't even think about it!" Sam started yelling as she realized what he was doing. He lifted them off the bed and flew through the wall, turning them all tangible after reaching the outside. Danny shook his head a little, breathing heavy. Turning them all intangible took a lot of energy, but he wanted to see whether or not he could do it. Plus, how else were they going to get outside?

Danny turned his body upward and started climbing altitude, the wind rushing through his snowy hair. He turned to face straight again and pushed himself forward through the air, defying gravity. He looked over at Tucker whose eyes were wide in awe and shock as he looked at the passing ground below. Sam, on the other hand, had her hands over her eyes, but still looking like she was enjoying herself. Then Danny remembered; Sam was scared of heights.

"Can you go any faster Danny?" Tucker asked in amazement.

"I don't think we should push him Tucker. What if he gets tired and we all fall," Sam advised, her voice shaking.

Tucker looked at Danny, who simply smiled and mouthed "Hold on" as he faced forward and pushed harder. Danny could tell they were picking up speed, he felt the wind whip harder at his face and saw the ground pass by much quicker. He pushed harder, wanting to go as fast as he could. Pretty soon they were whipping around the city, Tucker and Danny having the time of their lives.

"Hey Danny, my PDA says we're going nearly 70 miles per hour! You're flying at 70 miles per hour!" Tucker shouted, clearly having more fun with Danny's powers than he was.

"Which means that we'll hit anything we run into 70 times harder than we would normally," Sam reasoned grimly.

"Oh come on Sam. You think I'd honestly let that happen?"

"Yes. You don't have full control yet. What if you accidentally turn invisible or intangible and we just fall through your arms?" Sam started asking as white rings formed around Danny's waist, turning him human again. "Or that," Sam stated as they started falling.

"Danny, fly! Do something!" Tucker yelled.

"I can't! I don't think I can fly in human form!"

"Great. Now we all can be ghosts," Sam muttered sarcastically.

"That's not necessary Sam!" Tucker yelled.

"Well it's true! Hey Tucker, how fast does your PDA say we're going now?"

"Sam this isn't the time! We're falling to our death!"

"Sure it is. I want the last few moments of my life to be happy!"

"Yeah, well you know what would make me happy? Not having a last few moments of my life!"

While his friends bickered, Danny concentrated. The snowy hair, the green eyes, the jumpsuit. Nothing happened. "Oh come on, I need to go ghost!" Danny yelled to no one in particular. Suddenly the two rings formed around his waist as he turned back into a ghost. Then he shot up, rising away from the ground.

"Yes! Yes! We're not dead! We're not going to die!" Tucker yelled excitedly. "I knew you'd save us Danny! I could kiss you!"

"Please don't. I think I figured something out. I think my powers are somewhat controlled by my emotions. Earlier, in the room, my powers were shorting out because I was stressed and scared, and earlier I was scared that I really would lose control, so I did. So, I figure that the extreme revulsion I would feel from you kissing me would definitely do that."

Tucker and Sam both laughed. Danny continued to fly around, loving the feeling of defying gravity. This was something he could definitely get used to.

* * *

A/N: Alright, I know the part where they're finding out about his powers is a little on the cheesy side, but hey, this is Danny Phantom, that's the way it's supposed to be!

Hoping you're still enjoying this!


	3. Choices Made

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I had it written and ready to post when I decided I wanted to change it and add another scene. Hopefully you guys can forgive me, but for those of you who've been reading A Secret Uncovered (ASU), you should appreciate the addition!

Then, of course, as fate would have it , the time I try to spend writing it gets monopolized by schoolwork. Three words:I hate college. The average amount of sleep I got per night this week was four hours, the rest of the time was spent on homework. So, needless to say I didn't have enough time to write it. But, as of 5pm, I officially finished my essay on how reality can only be experienced through imagination (now you can get a sense of why it took me so long) which sigified the end of my week of death. So, as a celebration, I bring you the chapter! Enjoy!

Oh, and thanks to all my reviewers! You guys rock!

* * *

Chapter Three  
Choices Made

Danny flew them back into his room, phasing them through the wall again. He dropped them on the bed as he continued to float in the air.

"Wow," Tucker remarked, a look of pure delight and awe on his face. "That…was amazing. That was probably the best thing I have ever done in my life!"

"I have to admit, that was pretty amazing," Sam admitted. Ten minutes after their near encounter with the floor Sam finally opened her eyes and found that she really enjoyed it. She just had to keep her eyes looking straight ahead or up so she wouldn't know how far up they were flying. But still, it was something she could definitely grow to learn, and she knew Danny was feeling the same way, judging by the fact that he was still floating. She had a feeling this was going to be something very common from now on.

Danny was thinking along the same lines. He was just considering flying Sam and Tucker to their respective houses and then spending the rest of the night flying over the town when he glanced at himself in the mirror.

"My legs are gone! Where are my legs?" he started questioning. Below his belt billowed a smoky black ghost tail where his legs should have been.

"Wow, you really must be part ghost then Danny," Tucker commented.

"I wonder if it happened while you were flying," Sam suggested.

Danny thought hard and his legs appeared. "Oh thank goodness. This is going to take some getting used to," Danny remarked.

"Yeah, but we're here for you Danny," Tucker comforted.

"No matter how many weird ghost side effects you develop," Sam added smiling.

"Thanks guys," Danny thanked as they wrapped themselves in a group hug, until Danny fell through them as he accidentally went intangible. He stood up, becoming solid again, smiling. "I guess there's another emotion I'll have to watch out for, happiness." They all smiled.

For the next half hour Danny practiced controlling his powers, still leaving Tucker and Sam in awe every time he managed to turn invisible or intangible. He could easily turn into his human/ghost form at will and could become invisible or intangible whenever he wished to. Of course, there were times when he would fall through the floor or the wall when he didn't mean to.

Danny was in the process of trying to turn the entire bed intangible with him when suddenly he turned tangible and fell to the floor, unconscious. Then the two rings formed and he turned back into his human self.

"Danny? Danny, what happened?" Sam yelled to him.

Danny opened his eyes, staring at Tucker and Sam. He started to get up and realized that he felt a lot heavier. He looked at his body and noticed that he wasn't in his ghost form.

"What happened? When did I change back?" he asked.

"You sort of just knocked out and then when you were on the floor you just turned back," Tucker explained.

"Uh, I'm so tired," Danny complained as he pushed himself up and fell into his bed.

"I think you've used too much energy Danny," Sam explained. "You didn't have enough energy to stay awake any longer, so you fainted. And I guess when you faint you turn back to human."

"That's a good thing to know then," Danny remarked.

"Danny! Danny! Come and see! It's working! It's working!" his father's voice called from downstairs. "The Fenton portal, it's working!"

Sam and Tucker looked at Danny. "You should tell them," Sam suggested.

"No way. There's no way I'm telling them that I'm half ghost. They'll turn me into a lab rat! My parents are always talking about how they want to catch a ghost and do all these experiments on it; that's why they built the portal in the first place!"

"But who says they'll use you? You're their son, they have to accept you. I mean, aren't there other ghosts out there for them to use?" Tucker asked.

"No. Ghost's don't exist," Danny stated bluntly and slightly automatically. "Wait, I can't say that anymore can I? I'm living proof that they do."

"So does that mean that there _are_ other ghosts out there?" Sam asked.

"Right now, I wouldn't doubt it," Danny replied.

"So you're not going to tell them?" Tucker asked.

"No," Danny stated firmly.

"But what if they can help you?" Sam suggested.

"They can't help me. They'll think that being half ghost is some kind of a disease and they'd try to expunge it out of me. I mean, whenever anyone in this house gets a cold they think that it's ghost energy that's doing it, so they hook you up to all this machinery in the lab and won't let you leave for days. If that's their solution to the common cold, I don't want to know their solution for ghost powers."

"But Danny…" Sam continued.

"No. I'm not going to tell them. What if it pulls the family apart? What if they don't accept me? What if they start doing all these experiments on me? Our family will be ruined, all because of me. I don't want to risk it. Besides, how hard can it be to hide ghost powers?" he asked as he fell through the bed. He rose, smiling sheepishly.

* * *

Sam and Tucker left while Danny went back down into the basement that changed his life forever. He saw the green glow of the ghost zone and all the memories of the accident flashed back to him. His parents were standing by the ghost portal, examining it, trying to figure out how it remarkably turned on. Danny took a deep breath and walked over towards them.

Sam and Tucker had decided that he should tell his parents about the accident, minus the part about becoming half ghost and obtaining ghost powers. That way they'd know how the portal turned on, and that if he started acting strange and secretive, it would be because of the accident, which Danny figured was technically the truth.

They also agreed that no one, including Jazz, needed to know about Danny's new state of being. He was to keep it a secret from everyone, which Danny didn't think would be too hard. His ghost self and his human self looked different enough, so he figured that if he wanted to fly around the town, no one would ever know it was him. What was the point of having ghost powers if you never got to use them?

He walked over to his parents, getting closer to the Ghost Zone. He didn't like it, the way it glowed eerily. For some reason he could tell that having this portal was not a good thing, no matter how much his parents believed otherwise.

"Danny my boy! You've come to see it! Look, it works! Isn't it magnificent?" his father bellowed with pride. He glanced at Danny with a proud smile and then turned back to the ghost portal.

"Dad, have you been crying?" Danny asked, noticing his father's slightly red and puffy eyes.

"Oh your father and I are just so happy. After the failure yesterday we never thought that we'd get it to work, and now all of a sudden it's started working! It's a dream come true!" his mother expressed, not looking his way either, her attention on the ghost portal as well.

"I just wish I knew why it started working," his father stated puzzled, still examining a device that Danny figured read the status of the portal.

"Mom, Dad, I need to tell you something.'

"What is it honey?" his mother asked, her attention still on the ghost portal.

"I know how the ghost portal turned on."

"That's nice," his father said blankly, clearly not paying attention.

"That's wonderful dear," his mother stated. "Wait…what did you say?" she asked, finally turning towards him.

"I know how the ghost portal turned on." This time his father turned around as well.

"Honey, how do you know?" his mother asked slowly.

"Well, yesterday you were so sad, I wanted to help you. So today Tucker, Sam, and I went down here and started looking at the ghost portal. I went inside it and well…I found an on button."

"We forgot to turn the portal on? Suffering spooks, how can we be so stupid!" his father complained.

"Please tell me you unplugged it before pushing the on button," his mother demanded. Then her eyes widened as she saw Danny's face. "You didn't? You just pushed the on button while still in the portal?" she asked rushing over to Danny, his father rushing over as well.

"I-I didn't know what would happen. I pushed it and then there was all this green light. I started running out, but I got hit with some of the blast on the way out. I got knocked out and Tucker and Sam brought me up to my room."

"You could have died! Oh honey, are you alright?" his mother asked as she kneeled next to him.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"Oh you feel cold to the touch and you're shaking. Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No!" Danny yelled rather quickly. "I…I don't really need to go to the hospital. I'm fine."

"No you're not, you're a brick of ice, and you're shivering. Come on, let's get you upstairs and then I'll bring you some hot soup."

"Mom, it's fine. I don't need anything, honest. I'm just feeling a little wary of the portal, that's all."

"Oh, of course. Let's get you away from there. You're probably having flashbacks of the accident just looking at it!"

"Danny," his father knelt down in front of him before they headed upstairs "I just wanted to say thank you, for getting the portal up. I'm sorry you had to get hurt."

"No problem Dad."

"Come on dear," his mother demanded as she led Danny upstairs. "To think what would have happened if you didn't make it out. The ghost energy released from the portal would have killed you! It's a good thing you weren't in there."

"Yeah, a really good thing," he added as his hand went intangible.

* * *

Maddie forced Danny onto the couch and placed a blanket over him while turning on the television.

"We just need to occupy your mind, get it off that traumatizing experience. Do you need anything? Something to eat, drink?"

"No Mom, I'm fine."

"What's wrong? Is Danny sick?" Jazz asked as she walked in the door, back from her daily visit to the library.

"The Fenton Ghost Portal is working!" Jack bellowed.

"Okay… and this just started to work because…" Jazz stated, not sure what to think.

"Because your brother decided to take a look into the portal and found the on button," Maddie added sheepishly.

"So that whole time all you forgot to do was press the on button!" Jazz yelled in frustration as Jack and Maddie simply nodded. "I knew it! I knew it was something insignificant like that! All that time I spent worrying over how to cheer you up again and all just because you forgot to turn it on! I think I missed a question on my anatomy test because I couldn't get your state of depression out of my head!"

"Jazz dear, this isn't the time. You see, Danny turned the portal on while _inside _the portal."

Jazz gazed open mouthed at her entire family. She didn't think she could ever find a family that lacked so much common sense.

"What were you thinking? All of you! Danny, why did you do that! You could have been seriously injured! You could have been killed! And Mom, Dad, why would you even put the on button _inside_ the portal? Of all the stupid things you've ever done, this has got to be one of _the _stupidest!"

"Well, when we first decided to do that it was under the impression that once the portal was activated there'd be no way to turn the portal off because the on/off button would be on the other side of the portal. We were planning on turning on the button and then plugging it in, thus sparing us from having to be inside the portal," Maddie explained.

Jazz ignored her parent's explanation of their failed logic as she knelt next to Danny. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah Jazz, I'm fine," he comforted as he smiled. She smiled back and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm glad you're alright. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Thanks Jazz."

"Alright, now we're going to go into the kitchen and talk about common sense and how the little bit that you have needs to be used in the lab," Jazz lectured as she dragged her parents into the kitchen.

Danny smiled as he thought about the situation. _That's Jazz for you, forever the real parent of the family_ he thought in amusement.

Danny shivered as he pulled the covers closer to him. In truth he wasn't feeling that great. He felt extremely cold and exhausted and he had a major headache. Overall, he just felt achy and unpleasant, like he did when he got the beginnings of the flu, only minus all the regular symptoms. He figured they were just pains from the accident. Being hit with all that ghost energy did hurt horribly, and he was sure that all the changes his body had undergone to make himself half ghost probably accounted for the overall crappy feeling. Still, that didn't make him feel any better.

Not only did his body ache, but his heart as well. He didn't know how much lying to his family would hurt. His parents he could manage, since it was for a good reason, but it broke his heart to lie to Jazz. She was relying on the fact that he was all right, which he clearly wasn't. He and his sister may not get along and she may be extremely bossy and nosy at times, but he still loved her deeply. They'd never had any big secrets from each other and were usually pretty open with each other, since they were the only normal ones in the family.

But now, he was lying to her about something big, something that probably will change his life, or afterlife, forever. He felt like ripping his heart out to stop it from hurting. The way she looked when he told her he was all right, the way she seemed so comforted by his comments, it just broke his heart to realize that they all really didn't mean anything. They were all based off a lie, a lie created by him. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it wasn't the truth that would tear them apart, but the lies.

Danny allowed his thoughts to surround him as he drifted into a welcome sleep. Soon, much sooner than he would have liked, he was awoken by his father's loud booming voice as he emerged from the kitchen with Maddie and Jazz. Obviously Jazz had just finished her lecture and had set the hopefully more knowledgeable couple into the world.

"Alright everyone, get dressed. We're going out to Olive Garden to celebrate the opening of the Fenton Ghost Portal and the prospect of further ghost experimentation and research!" Jack bellowed proudly.

Alright, maybe the truth would hurt more.

* * *

The four of them walked into the restaurant. Jack was striding proudly in the lead while Maddie and Jazz walked behind him. Danny dragged in the back, trying to keep up but feeling utterly exhausted. He felt completely drained of energy, but he didn't want anyone to know. He said he was fine and he didn't want to ruin the dinner for everyone. They hardly went out and when they did it usually was a joyous occasion for everyone, and he didn't want to ruin it, especially when he couldn't tell them the truth of why he felt so bad. He figured that if they didn't ask, he couldn't lie, and things would be better overall. But in order for them not to ask, he had to appear to be fine, which was turning out to be harder than he thought.

They sat down at their table and ordered and received their drinks. Danny tried to partake in the usual Straw Wars like he usually did when they went out to eat, but he just couldn't find the energy to get excited about it like usual.

"Danny, are you all right?" Jazz asked as Danny was pelted with another straw wrapper from Jack.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired," he responded as he received a worried look from Jazz. She knew something was up, he could tell. Whenever they went out to eat he would do anything to avoid getting hit with the straw weapon. He even fell out of his chair once when he leaned over too far to avoid a wrapper. Now, he was just taking them and had only shot two half hearted ones in retaliation.

Finally the food arrived, signaling the end of the Straw Wars. Everyone happily started eating his or her warm and creamy Italian pasta. Danny wasn't really that hungry, and he figured it probably had something to do with the fact that he'd spent most of the day as a ghost that didn't need to eat, but Jazz was still looking up at him every few seconds, making sure he was all right, and now his mother was too. So, he ate, although with great reluctance.

As he brought yet another forkful of pasta to his mouth, he felt the tingle in his hand. He heard the fork drop to his plate as it fell through his now intangible hand. He quickly dropped his hand, passing it through the table and keeping it hidden.

Jazz looked at her brother curiously. She looked up after she heard the fork drop and could swear that she saw his hand pass _through_ the table. She quickly dismissed the thought. He probably just moved his hand under the table so quickly that it just seemed like it went through the table. She knew something was up though, judging by the fact that Danny's face was a mask of terror, his eyes darting around the restaurant.

"Danny, are you okay?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah sweetie, why did you drop your fork?" his mother asked, now staring at him.

"Oh, um, the fork just, uh, slipped out of my hand. Um, I have to go to the bathroom." He got up quickly and practically ran to the bathroom, hoping no one saw his intangible hand. He ran into a stall and leaned against the door. He looked at his hand and sighed. That was far too close. He really needed to learn how to control these abilities, and soon. Otherwise his parents would find out, and he would end up on a lab table while his insides were being placed in test tubes for analysis.

He sighed and stared at his hand, concentrating on turning it tangible. He stared until his eyes dried out and his hand was still the same blue, opaque tint. He shut his eyes and leaned his head back on the door, waiting for his eyes to moisten before he tried again. He opened his eyes and looked at his hand, trying everything to get it to turn back to normal. He tried imagining it as tangible, imagined it stopping when it hit a wall, not continuing through it, imagined it the same pale skin color as his other hand, imagined it actually having bones and muscles, imagined it being anything other than intangible, but to no luck. It was still intangible and he couldn't change it back.

Now he was starting to feel extremely tired and drained, as well as awkward. He didn't know how many people had gone through the bathroom while he was still trying to figure out how to fix his hand. It was slightly uncomfortable to still be in the stall the entire time someone uses the bathroom, knowing that his stall door was probably getting some strange looks, especially when there was a line. The first ones in line would go in, go out, and then the next people would go and on down the line, and all the while he was still monopolizing the handicapped stall.

He'd taken to pacing in what little space he had, trying to think of what to do, trying to keep calm and not freak out. He'd been in the bathroom for almost five minutes by this point and he was sure his parents were worried about him. Jazz already thought something was wrong, and now he wouldn't come out of the bathroom.

Again he stared angrily at his hand, willing it to turn tangible, but to no avail. He figured it probably had something to do with his lack of energy which was steadily decreasing by the minute, but he didn't really care. Knowing why he couldn't change it back wasn't going to fix it, only knowing how would.

Fed up, Danny went ghost, hoping it would fix his hand in the transformation, but it didn't. He sighed and started floating in the air. At least he could stop standing up, that was a plus. For a few more minutes he tried to concentrate but finally gave up. He figured his hand had to go back to normal eventually, and it obviously wanted to make his life difficult by doing it in its own time, so he decided to just wait it out, hoping for the best. Not to mention that he couldn't concentrate anymore because his head hurt so much. He was so tired that he thought he would fall asleep in the air.

Finally he felt the tingle and noticed his hand was back to normal. He cheered, much to the shock of the people in the bathroom with him, and he changed back into his human form, his arm still tangible. He ran out of the bathroom and into the restaurant to join his family.

"Danny, what took you so long? You were in there for about ten minutes!"

"Oh, well…" Danny thought, trying to think of an excuse that didn't involve the embarrassing topic of diarrhea or constipation.

"Danny, come here," his mother instructed as he obeyed promptly. She placed her hand on his forehead and gasped. "Danny, you're ice cold, more so than before! And your eyes…" Danny's heart skipped a beat. They couldn't be green, not now. "…they've lost that sparkle. They look dead. And your skin is all pale and clammy. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Danny figured he should just admit it. He was feeling extremely tired and just wanted to drop to the floor and sleep for eternity. "Actually…"

"Of course he's not Mom! Look at him! We need to go home so he can rest! I knew this was a bad idea! He had just been through a terrible accident and should have been at home recuperating, not going out to dinner to celebrate the accident."

Maddie nodded and flagged down the waitress, explaining the situation and requesting the check. They returned home and Danny walked upstairs to his room leaning on Jazz for support. He had barely enough energy to keep his eyes open, let alone walk or even crawl to his bedroom.

The second he hit his bed he fell fast asleep, not thinking about anything other than the soft feel of the pillow against his face and the warmth of the covers surrounding him.

* * *

A/N: So as promised, a lot longer. It's actually double the original length, so I guess your patience gets rewarded in the end.


	4. Welcome Back

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad those of you who have been reading A Secret Uncovered liked the addition so much! 

Here's the next chapter where Danny's back at school. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four  
Welcome Back

Danny felt a cold stick being inserted in between his lips. His eyes shot open and he jumped up in shock. He looked around and noticed his sister sitting beside the bed, looking quite shaken.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're awake," she stated as she grabbed the dropped thermometer off the bed. "I'm just going to check your temperature."

Danny nodded and felt the cold stick between his lips again, but this time with permission and the knowledge that it was going to happen. They sat in awkward silence as the thermometer deprived Danny of the ability to talk for the time being. Finally the thermometer beeped and Jazz removed it from his mouth, looking puzzled at the results.

"Danny, how are you feeling?" she asked as she continued to look at the thermometer.

"I feel fine. I feel totally refreshed."

"Well, that could be because it's four in the afternoon, the next day," she answered, lifting her eyes up and smiling.

"Four in the afternoon! That means I've been asleep for…"

"Twenty one hours," Jazz supplied as she drew her attention to the thermometer again.

"Twenty one hours," Danny repeated in shock. He must have been more tired than he thought. What would make him sleep so long?

Then he remembered the accident, and the night before, and how horrible he felt. Was it all just a horrible dream? Was he now just waking up from the accident and wasn't a ghost after all? He noticed that his sister was still looking at the thermometer, shaking it around like it was broken. He directed his attention to his hand and imagined it intangible. He gasped as his hand turned the clear blue color and fell through the covers.

Jazz looked up, just as he shoved his hand back under, trying to get it to return to it's normal, tangible state.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just…remembering what happened yesterday. I thought it was all just a dream…and now I just realized that it wasn't." That was somewhat true.

Jazz smiled warmly at him. "Yeah, it did happen. Now, I need to check your temperature again. Obviously you moved last time or something because it says your temperature is seven degrees below normal, which definitely can't be right."

Danny opened his mouth again and allowed Jazz to take his temperature. After it beeped, she removed it and checked it again, only to find that it read the same answer as before. She took his temperature two more times and with two different thermometers before finally giving up.

"I don't understand. By all accounts you should be suffering hypothermia, or at least be dead. Are you sure you're feeling all right?" she asked worriedly as she placed a hand on his forehead before drawing it back quickly and placing both her hands on his cheeks and then around his neck.

"I'm feeling fine," he answered as she continued to feel his body temperature.

"Danny, your skin is ice cold to the touch! Are you cold at all?"

"No."

She looked at him in worry. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Jazz, I told you, I'm fine. I think I just needed some sleep."

"Well, I think we should call a doctor…"

"No!" Danny answered quickly and sharply, which caught Jazz's attention. "I mean, you know how Mom and Dad get around doctors. I don't know if that would be such a good idea. Plus, I'm feeling fine."

"Alright, well I think you should stay in bed, at least until your temperature rises back to normal. I'm going to run out to the store and buy some more trustworthy thermometers. Mom and Dad are in the basement, so just shout if you need anything."

"Alright, I will."

Jazz took one last look at the thermometer before placing it on the bedside table and walking out of the room, shutting the door on her way out.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief. He sure hoped his temperature would rise soon (if it did at all) so Jazz would get off his case. She always got so worried about this kind of stuff.

He shook himself out of these thoughts and turned instead to yesterday's events. It was around this time yesterday that he had gone in the portal. He had been a ghost for almost twenty four hours. He had been dead for twenty four hours.

_Half dead_ he corrected himself. _I'm only half dead, which isn't really that much better._

Again he shook himself out of his thoughts. They were too depressing, and thinking about being half dead wasn't going to change the fact that he was.

Danny got out of bed and stood in front of a full length mirror. He concentrated and watched in awe as the white rings formed around his waist and moved up and down his body, changing his appearance.

"Cool," he admired aloud as he watched the transformation. He gazed at the ghostly version of himself, trying to familiarize himself with his new appearance. He concentrated again and the white rings appeared again, changing him back to human.

He continued to change in front of the mirror, awestruck at the sight and thought that something like this could actually be happening, and to him of all people.

Then he decided to try invisibility again, and gasped as he saw himself vanish from sight in front of the mirror. He knew that he was looking at the mirror, and yet, he couldn't see his reflection inside it. He became visible again and returned to his bed, incase his parents decided to suddenly make a visit upstairs. As he sat down in his bed he accidentally turned intangible and fell not only through the bed, but through the floor as well. He ended up on the floor of the living room with a grunt and started to stand up when he heard his father scream something about ghosts and their pounding steps up the stairs. He quickly tried to turn invisible and found that he could only go intangible. In a panic he quickly jumped up, intent on running as fast as he could away from the room when he noticed that he was floating.

_I guess I can fly when I'm intangible_ he thought. _Sweet!_ He used this to his advantage and flew up through the ceiling and into his bed where he regained tangibility.

"Wow, that was close," he said aloud. "I really need to learn to get used to these, before I go out in public and make a freak of myself."

* * *

Fortunately for Danny, he had a while to get used to his powers before he had to tackle going out in public. His parents and sister felt that he should stay home from school until his temperature rose back to normal, but after a week it never happened. It was close to normal now, but just slightly below. His parents were worried that the portal had permanently altered his temperature, but unfortunately for Danny, that wasn't the only thing the portal had altered. As the week progressed, not only did Danny find that even though he now had control of his powers he was still accidentally going invisible or falling through solid objects, but he had also gotten a lot stronger. He also felt really cold a lot and he would see blue steam rise out of his mouth every so often. He didn't know what that meant, but there was no way to know whether it was normal or not. He didn't even think he was normal anymore.

During the week, Danny started thinking about his new powers, and what he would do with them. He excitedly thought about all the new possibilities that were open to him. He wouldn't have to ride the bus to school anymore, he could just fly there, invisible of course. He thought of all the mean tricks he could do to Dash when he shoved him into his locker, of trips into the girl's locker room, of sneaking off when he was grounded. But somehow, he felt guilty, like there was something missing, like there was something more that he needed to do with his powers.

A thought struck him while he was watching Superman while everyone was at school. Clark Kent used his amazing powers to stop crime and save the city, was that what he was supposed to do? Save the city from crime? He thought about it, but it didn't really sound too appealing. There wasn't much crime in Amity, so there wouldn't really be that much for him to do. He ran this theory by Tucker and Sam, and they weren't so sure about the idea. They mentioned the police, and how they pretty much had everything under control. They suggested that if he happened to be around when there was a crime, then he should definitely stop it, but he shouldn't bother his time trying to look for crime. He needed to concentrate on school and finding out exactly what was going on.

Finally his parents pronounced him fit to go back to school after they couldn't find a solution. To them, Danny looked fine. Sure he would act a little jumpy and strange at times and would run off for the weirdest reasons, but they figured that was just psychological trauma from the accident. Jazz offered to take him to a shrink, but Danny screamed no and threatened to run away to Tucker's if they did, so they just accepted that Danny wanted to work through it himself and that if he needed help, they would be there for him.

That Monday, Danny walked to the bus stop, feeling like he'd just come back from some form of break. He hadn't been to school in so long it felt weird to walk to the bus stop. He stopped by Sam's house and she looked excited to see Danny heading off to school.

"So your parents finally let you go to school?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. My temperature is still low, but they can't quite figure out why, so they just gave up. It's actually a relief really. They wanted to do all these tests on me and expunge me of ghost energy. Given the circumstances, I don't think that would be such a great idea."

"Probably not."

"Thankfully Jazz convinced them not to and said that it would probably only make my 'psychological trauma' worse."

"Well we all knew that Jazz's psychological obsession had to come in handy sometime."

They walked to the stop and met up with Tucker.

"Hey, welcome back! It's been lonely here without you!" Sam gave him an evil look. "I mean, it hasn't been the same without you here," he corrected.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually glad to go back to school. You can only take so much of being bedridden."

"I hear you."

Once Danny reached the school, he was bombarded by students all asking about his health and wishing for a recount of the accident. For the first time in his life, Danny was actually popular. His parents' reputation for having wacky and possibly dangerous inventions in the basement had been developed well before Danny entered the first grade, so all the kids knew what kind of stuff could possibly happen down in that lab. Everyone was glad that Danny was okay, even though he didn't know half of the people who expressed their joy to see him alive. In addition to people continuing to greet him, almost everyone wanted to know exactly what happened. He didn't know quite how many times he'd told the story. Remarkably enough, he didn't exaggerate like most do when telling a horrific story, but it was definitely more eventful than the one he told his parents, but still nowhere close to the real thing. During lunch he held a large captive audience, all begging to hear what had happened. Tucker and Sam got to share in the fame as well, since they were there with him, but as Sam said, she had been going through the torture all week because she, Tucker, and Jazz were the only ones who could update them on Danny's condition.

Most of his classes were uneventful. He had a few moments where his hand would go intangible and his pencil would fall through it, or his leg would suddenly go invisible, but he expected that to happen. In Biology, however, he received a surprise.

"Good afternoon class," Mr. Lancer welcomed. "Today we're going to start our project on DNA. I know you all have been looking forward to it. Mr. Fenton, you do not need to disrupt Ms. Manson at this time, I will fill you in on the way to the lab." Danny had just leaned over to ask Sam what was going on.

"Sorry Mr. Lancer," Danny apologized.

"That's quite all right. Now, if you would all follow me to the lab. Mr. Fenton, please walk with me and I'll explain the project." Danny gave Tucker and Sam a look clearly indicating that he'd rather hear it from them and the rushed up to Mr. Lancer. "First, I wanted to state how glad I am that you're better and that it's good to see you sitting in your desk. We all feared the worst."

"Thanks Mr. Lancer."

"Now, for the past week we've been learning about DNA. In order to get a closer look, a DNA research facility has kindly loaned us their DNA research material for our use on this project. We're going to take a drop of blood from ourselves and examine the DNA makeup using the research material. You may not understand what we're analyzing and frankly I don't want to cover a weeks worth of DNA lessons for you, but I think this project is too fascinating to not allow you to take part in it. Therefore, Mr. Foley and Ms. Manson are allowed to help you as much as they wish, as is your sister. If you have any further questions, just feel free to come and talk to me."

"Thanks Mr. Lancer, I will."

"Welcome back." Mr. Lancer started walking into the lab and then turned back to face Danny. "Oh, and Mr. Fenton, I'd like to speak with you after school about everything you've missed, if that's alright with you."

"It shouldn't be a problem."

They walked into the lab and Danny saw many different machines all around the lab. Five people in lab coats were walking around the machines, checking them to make sure they were operating smoothly.

"Everyone please take a seat in the classroom area," Mr. Lancer instructed. "First, I would like to thank Masterson DNA Lab for their kind gesture to allow us to use these machines. Now, please understand that these machines are extremely expensive, so please take care when using them. You don't need a lab tech near you at all times, but if you find a problem they are here to answer your questions. Now, I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Yaman who will instruct you on how to use the machines."

For the better part of the hour Mr. Yaman went over some of the most boring information Danny had ever heard. He started zoning out as he started talking about things he couldn't even begin to understand. Something about how the machines could get close enough to the DNA to examine the separate chains of protein and ambiguous stuff like that. Finally they were allowed to go to the machines.

"Alright, we won't have much time to do anything really exciting today," Mr. Lancer began "so let's just get a drop of blood and look at the DNA under the microscope for today. Now remember to be careful when working with blood. You only need to prick your finger and let a drop of blood fall on the slide. Then bandage your finger up quickly so no more blood falls. We don't want a mess, or an AIDS infestation."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker grabbed what the technicians called the "pricker" and pricked their fingers so a small drop of blood emerged onto their finger. The smeared their blood on a slide and then bandaged their fingers. They slid their samples under the microscope and started doing exactly what the technicians had told them. Finally Tucker found a DNA strand in his blood.

"Hey, I found one. Sweet! That's really my DNA, that's awesome!" Danny and Sam ran over to his slide to look at it.

"That's awesome Tucker. Hey, can you find mine?" Danny asked.

"Sure," he agreed and started looking at Danny's. "Well, that's why you can't find it; you're looking in the totally wrong spot. You're supposed to focus in on a blood cell first, and then delve into the nucleus because that's where the DNA is located."

"Well I'm sorry Mr. I-Was-Here-All-Week-So-I-Know-What-I'm-Doing."

"Wow, Danny. You've got to see this."

Danny peered into his microscope and saw a chain of his DNA. "Wow, this is awesome. It's amazing that this little strand makes up everything in my body."

"No, not that. Compare it with mine."

"Tucker, of course they're going to look different. No two people have the same DNA."

"Danny, look closer. There's something really different."

Danny studied Tucker's DNA closely, and then looked at his own. He zoomed in a little and noticed that parts of his DNA were glowing green. "Okay, that's just weird."

"Let me see," Sam insisted. She pressed her face up to the microscope, her purple eyes gazing at the DNA sample. "Danny, this is amazing! This could very well be the reason you have ghost powers. The ghost portal must have affected your genes, giving you powers."

"Well, I definitely can't hand this in to Mr. Lancer. I doubt many people's DNA glows green."

"We'll figure that out later," Sam comforted. "Right now, I want to know what your DNA looks like when you're a ghost."

"Well, I'm not going to go ghost right in the middle of the lab with a bunch of students."

"Alright kids, class will be over in five minutes, so please rinse off your slides and place them in the sterilization bucket near the sink. Don't worry if you weren't able to find anything today. We will be in here everyday for the next week and the lab will be open for you to use after school and during lunch. A lab technician will always be next door in the office in case you need any help. You will also be required to log in indicating the times you were at the lab so if anything is broken, we'll have some way to track down who broke it, so again, be careful. Class dismissed."

"That's perfect. We'll come after I'm done talking with Lancer after school and see what's going on with my whacked up DNA," Danny planned, his eyes turning green.

"Danny, your eyes just flashed green," Tucker noticed.

"Really? Weird. This is going to take some getting used to."

* * *

A/N: Yay for genetics! Sorry, one of my plans for after college is to be a genetic researcher (either that or a patent lawyer or a doctor...though doctor is winning at the moment...) so needless to say I'm fascinated by DNA, so what better way to describe Danny's ghost powers than through DNA? Anywho, hope you liked it!


	5. Genetic Anomaly

A/N: Sorry again for taking so long to get this one up! I've been working really hard on setting up all this background and reference information for my next story and I've been spending more time on it than I probably should be. Heehee. Oh well, I can guarantee that it'll be good once I get everything sorted out. There's going to be a lot to it and it'll be really awesome and I can't wait to start writing it! 

But that's beside the point. The point is this story, not my other one. Alright, this chapter is me giving you my reasoning behind Danny's powers, including some nice Lancer fluff. I hope you find it interesting!

Oh, and thank you for all the reviews! I'm so glad you like this story!

* * *

Chapter Five  
Genetic Anomaly

After Danny's last class, he headed towards Lancer's classroom and knocked on the door, only to realize that his hand had gone intangible and fell through the door. He gasped and pulled his hand back as he turned around making sure no one was behind him. He put his hand in his pocket and knocked with his other hand.

"Enter," Mr. Lancer called from within. Danny opened the door and walked towards Mr. Lancer's desk, not removing his hand from his pocket; it still felt intangible.

"Ah Mr. Fenton, please take a seat," Mr. Lancer greeted as he gestured to a seat across from the desk. Danny sat down, slipping his hand behind his back.

"I just wanted to let you know what I was planning on doing in regards to the week of school you've missed. All your teachers and I have talked about your particular situation and we've decided that it's not fair to ask you to make up anything you've missed. In addition, we're not going to make you responsible for the material you've missed at any time, including on the final. So, in Biology for example, you will have to do the DNA project only because you don't really need any information for it, but you won't have to take the test next Monday with the rest of the class. You also won't have to make up the photosynthesis test we took last week, although you will be responsible for that material since you were here when we learned it.

"In English, you won't have to read To Kill A Mockingbird, though I think you should certainly read it at some point in your life, but we're almost finished with it, so you shouldn't worry about it. Of course, you should still pay attention in class, but you won't have to do any other projects or tests relating to it. For your other teachers, you'll have to talk to them about details, but we've all pretty much agreed to the same thing. If one of your other teachers is going to make you responsible for something you feel you shouldn't be responsible for, just come talk to me and we'll sort it out. Do you have any questions?"

"No Mr. Lancer."

"Excellent. Now, I won't ask you what happened, but I want you to know that you can always talk to me. I understand what kind of stuff your parents work with, and I know that most of it can be pretty dangerous. They told me that you could have been killed, which I know can be traumatizing. So, I just wanted to let you know that you can always come talk to me if you're having a problem adjusting to life after that traumatizing experience. I myself had a near death experience and I was never the same afterwards."

"Thank you Mr. Lancer, I will."

"And if anything ever becomes too overwhelming, just let me know and I'll try and see what I can do."

"Thank you."

"Alright, I'm sure you want to spend some time with your classmates and relish in your newfound popularity. Off you go."

"Thank you sir," Danny thanked as he headed out the door. Before exiting, he turned back to Mr. Lancer. "Mr. Lancer?"

"Yes Mr. Fenton."

"I just wanted to say how much I appreciate everything. It really means a lot to me."

"It is my pleasure Daniel."

Danny left Mr. Lancer's room, feeling totally refreshed. This meant he had no homework because all of his teachers were still working on stuff that he missed. He rushed over to the lab where Tucker and Sam were setting up the machine.

"Alright Danny, the lab tech just came in here, so you should be safe. I don't think she'll make another visit within the next few minutes."

The ring of light formed around Danny's waist as he turned into his ghost half.

"Wow, you're getting better," Tucker commented.

"Yeah, I've been practicing. Sitting in your bed all day for a week can get pretty boring. Let's make this quick before that lab tech comes in."

"Take your glove off," Sam ordered as she got the pricker ready. Danny removed his glove and Sam took his hand, flinching a little.

"Sorry it's so cold," Danny apologized.

"That's alright," Sam returned as she pricked Danny with the pricker. Green liquid oozed out of the hole in his finger.

"Alright, now that's just plain wrong," Danny remark upon seeing the green substance.

"Just wipe it on the slide and we can figure it out later," Tucker ordered.

Danny did as he was told and Tucker slid the sample under the microscope.

"Wow. I don't know what this stuff is, but it's not blood," Tucker commented. "I don't see anything remotely resembling blood cells in here."

"It's probably ectoplasm," Danny suggested. His two friends looked at him. "I started asking my parents a bunch of questions about ghosts. They're made up of a green goop called ectoplasm. It's like ghost blood. My parents are always complaining about how much they want it but can never get any."

"That's kinda cool and interesting, in a weird way," Tucker commented. "Your parents wouldn't happen to be able to tell you where to look for DNA in a sample of ectoplasm, would they?"

"Very funny. Just keep looking; it has to be there somewhere."

"Danny, I hear someone coming. Quick hide…" Sam advised as she turned to Danny, only to see that he wasn't there. The lab tech entered the lab, looked at them and then smiled at the future scientists at work as she walked back into the office.

"Find anything yet?" Danny asked as he appeared to Sam's right. Sam jumped back in shock.

"Danny, don't scare me like that!" she warned.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, I think I found something. I'm going to zoom in and see if I can find DNA. Yup, here we go, Danny's ghost DNA. Wow, that looks really cool."

"Let me see," Danny demanded as he moved in front of the microscope. He saw a glowing green strand of DNA, but some of the protein chains didn't glow at all. "Tucker, find the top of the strand and take a picture of it and then print it out."

"Why?"

"I have a theory."

After a few moments of figuring out where the pattern began and ended, Tucker took a picture with the microscope and sent it to the printer in the middle of the room. Danny flew over to the printer and pulled up the picture.

"Alright, now we need to find my human DNA," Danny stated as he turned back into a human and pricked his finger with the pricker. He smeared the blood onto a slide and then handed the slide to Tucker before turning back into a ghost.

"And you're turning back into a ghost why?" Sam asked as she bandaged his finger.

"Is there any reason not to?" Danny asked in return as he started floating off the floor. "It's more fun being a ghost; I can float."

"Show off," Sam muttered under her breath so no one could hear her.

"Got it."

"From the beginning of the strand?" Danny asked.

"Yup."

"Awesome, you rock. Take the picture and then we can see if my theory's right."

Tucker took the picture and Danny grabbed it from the printer and set it next to the other one. Danny studied them for a moment in silence and then looked up happily.

"Do you mind explaining this?" Tucker asked.

"Alright, I don't know much about DNA, but if you look at both of these chains, the third little spoke on the left side is human DNA, while in my human form it's ghost DNA. The same thing works for every one of the little spokes. They're just switched around."

"So that must be what gives you ghost powers," Sam mentioned. Even though Danny was no great shakes at science or school in general, he could really be smart when he wanted to. He obviously inherited his parents' genes.

"Exactly," Danny confirmed.

"That means that the ghost portal rearranged your molecules, switching your protein chains so that you would have ghost powers."

"Oh, so that's what they're called? Oh well, I prefer spokes."

"Then it's a good thing you're not taking the test," Sam joked. "Well, now you have two different genetic signatures."

"So, if you ever get commit a crime the police won't be able to convict you because they won't be able to process your DNA linking you to the scene of the crime!" Tucker laughed.

"Yeah, but that also means that Danny can't ever be suspected, or they'll take a sample of his DNA and find the exact same thing we did. And he can't ever go to the hospital either, because they would want a blood sample. And he can't get a blood transfusion because no one has similar enough DNA anymore!"

"Sam, relax," Danny suggested. "I'm not planning on committing any crimes, so that doesn't matter, I don't plan on having to go to the hospital and plus my parents don't really believe in the hospital unless it's an emergency, and I don't really think I'm going to need a blood transfusion. I'm half ghost remember? If I need one I'll just stay in my ghost mode until I make enough red blood cells to be back to normal. Don't worry, it'll all be fine."

"You're right. It's just, this is all so weird. I mean, you're going to have to be really careful, _we're_ going to have to be really careful."

"I know, but we shouldn't worry about things that don't concern us yet. We have enough to worry about," Danny remarked.

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked.

"Like the lab tech lady coming back. Hide!" Sam ushered as Danny turned invisible. "I keep forgetting he can do that."

The lady wandered in and looked at them as both of them hovered over the microscope, looking intent on their project. Then she retreated to her office.

Danny became visible again, but this time sitting on top of the microscope.

"Danny!" Sam screamed. "I swear, do that to me one more time, and I will personally make you a full ghost!" Tucker and Danny laughed.

"So what do we have to worry about?" Tucker asked.

"It's just, this is all so weird, and I keep feeling like I should be telling my family all this. This is way more than just being half dead. I mean, I have two genetic signatures, and one of them glows green! And now I'm even bleeding green! A part of me just keeps thinking that something this important should be shared with the family, but I'm too scared to do so."

"Danny, I know this has to be rough, but remember what you told us the day of the accident? Is it worth risking everything just because you bleed green or because your DNA glows?" Sam comforted. "I don't think they'll do anything to you and I think they'll accept you, green blood and all, but I just wanted you to remember how adamant you were at first when I suggested telling them."

"She's right Danny. If you have any doubt in your mind that they won't accept you, then I wouldn't risk it. It's not worth it."

"You're right. It's just that I'm sick of lying to them, of running out of the room at random moments because my arm went intangible."

"Listen, no one said this would be easy, but that's why you've got us. We'll make it work, don't worry."

Danny smiled at his friends. He knew they'd find a way to cheer him up.

"So does that mean we're done?" Danny asked. "I know I said I wanted to go back to school, but I didn't mean that I wanted to stay here all day."

"I just want to do one more test," Tucker announced.

"Great," Danny sighed.

"Go human for a second." Danny proceeded to transform back into his human form. "Alright, I know this may seem a little unreasonable, but this is something probably really important. I need you to fill this Petri dish with blood."

"What?" Danny asked incredulously.

"That's a lot of blood Tucker," Sam stated.

"I know, but I need a large amount to analyze it. This may be important."

"Alright, I trust you," Danny agreed as he grabbed a scalpel.

"What are you doing Danny?" Sam asked.

"Using the pricker will take too long," Danny explained as he held his finger over the Petri dish and slashed his finger open as he grimaced at the sharp pain.

"I can't believe you just did that," Sam commented.

Danny waited as the dish was filled with his blood, noticing that at times the green ectoplasm would ooze out instead of the normal red blood, even though he was in human mode. He handed the Petri dish to Tucker and then Sam helped him wrap up his finger.

"Aha! I knew it!" Tucker rejoiced as he looked into the sample. "You still have ectoplasm in your blood even when you're not a ghost," Tucker explained.

"That could be why my parent's inventions keep homing in on me when I'm not a ghost. They said that their inventions seek out the ectoplasm inside a ghost, which is why they want a sample of it so bad, so they can track ghosts."

"Or it could be tracking your ghost DNA," Sam suggested.

"That too," Danny admitted.

"And we could know that without making Danny slice his hand open," she smarted back.

"So if there's ectoplasm in my blood when I'm a human," Danny contemplated while going ghost "then that means that there may be some human blood in my ectoplasm." He removed the bandage and noticed that green ooze was slowly replacing the red blood emerging from his wound, but at times he would see an emergence of red, much like the ectoplasm did in his human form.

"So, what exactly does this mean?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, but can we figure this out sometime later. I'm really sick of this lab and actually really tired."

"Sounds good to me," Tucker replied as Danny turned human. "I'm going to save these samples, just in case we happen to need them again."

"Aren't you stealing those Petri dishes?" Sam asked skeptically.

"They won't miss them," Tucker replied as he covered them with lids and shoved them into his backpack. "And don't worry, I won't let anyone get a hold of them."

The three of them walked out of the lab, brimming with new knowledge explaining Danny's unique circumstances.

* * *

A/N: So I hope it wasn't too bad and I hope you found it as interesting as I did. If not, then don't worry, there'll be some action in the next one!


	6. Questions That Need Answering

A/N: I am so so sorry about this late update! Not only was I gone in Tucson for the weekend to visit my friend but I was suffering from severe writers block. But now it's cleared and I know exactly where I'm going. I'm sad to say that with this new plan comes an idea for where and how to end this, which is coming up a very soon. But, I guess that's life.

A huge thank you to all my reviewers who, like always, continue to convice me to write! You guys are awesome!

* * *

Chapter Six  
Questions That Need Answering

Later that night Danny lay in bed unable to sleep. Thoughts of glowing DNA, ghost powers, and green blood drifted through his mind. The Petri dishes of blood and the results of their research called to him from behind the solid wall where he had found an alcove to hide them. He thought of all the questions that formed from their afternoon at the lab, questions that he still had about himself, about what he had become after the accident, about what to do with the rest of his life.

As he lay tossing and turning he considered telling his parents. If anyone knew anything about what was happening to him, it would be them. They knew more about ghosts than he could ever imagine, and maybe they could help him figure out what was going on, figure out what to do. But if he told them, they might want to try to find him a cure, and he was pretty sure there wasn't one. If he really was half dead, then there isn't any way that he could be given back the rest of his life. It would be like bringing someone back from the dead. The best they could probably do would be to just make him fully dead.

As he thought about it, he wasn't quite sure he'd want a cure if it even existed. As strange as it was to have glowing DNA, green blood, ghost powers, and the knowledge that he could possibly be half dead, deep down, he liked being a ghost. He could turn intangible, reach through anything, walk through walls. He could disappear from sight, sneaking off anywhere he wanted or hiding from anything that might endanger him. And anytime he wanted he could get up and leave, fly off into the sky, soaring over the city. People would kill for that kind of chance, to fly without supports or outside assistance. Just to be up there, all by himself, feeling the clouds and wind whip through his hair and past his face was a rush he couldn't explain, a rush he fully enjoyed beyond anything he'd ever experienced. He could experience things that people only dreamed of, things people could only wish for.

As he thought about it, he realized that if he was presented with the cure right now, he would turn it down. Even though he could once again be normal, a little bit of normalcy was nothing compared to the thrills he could experience with his ghostly powers. And as long as no one ever found out about it, he could act and pretend that things were normal while still experiencing the joys of midnight flights.

But was his parents' urge to find a cure really the biggest downside to telling them? What if they originally wanted to find a cure but once they discovered that one didn't exist they kicked him out of the house? He had long known that his parents despised ghosts and that they had long since wanted to capture one, but would this feeling extend to him? He was a ghost, but he was also their son. Would they see past their hatred of ghosts because of the love of their son, or was their hate greater than their love?

Danny sat up in bed, realizing the way to settle this. He'd go talk to them. They were asleep right now and he knew from many years of experience that if he woke them up now they'd answer any question he asked truthfully because they'd be too asleep to think about what the best answer would be.

He quietly crawled out of bed and crept through the hall into his parents' room, trying not to wake up his sister. Knowing her she'd probably want to talk to him as well and he really didn't feel like talking to her right now. Besides, his parents were the only ones with the answer he needed.

He opened the door to their bedroom and walked to their sleeping bodies curled under the warm covers, his dad snuggling with his teddy bear. He stood next to the bed and took a deep breath, convinced that he wanted to do this, no matter what kind of answer he received.

"Mom? Dad?" Danny asked in a loud whisper. His parents didn't move. "Mom? Dad?" he asked again, this time louder, but still no response. He sighed, silently cursing his parents for sleeping so soundly. He was tempted to shake them awake, but years of experience had also told him that they would jump awake and start screaming about a ghost, and then they wouldn't be in a half asleep phase when he tried to ask them questions.

"Mom," he said, now in an urgent tone. Finally he heard his mother groan and open her violet eyes.

"Danny? What's wrong sweetheart?" she asked as she yawned.

"I can't sleep."

"What's wrong?"

"Can you wake Dad up?"

"Sure honey. Jack, Jack!"

"Where's the ghost?" his father asked with a yawn.

"Danny would like to talk to us, he says he can't sleep."

"Can it wait until the morning?" he asked with a yawn as he rolled over, preparing to go back to sleep.

"Jack," Maddie warned.

"Alright." He rolled back over and looked sleepily at Danny. "What's the matter son?"

"I just have all these questions that I need answers to."

"What kind of…" Maddie started to ask.

"Alright son, I understand."

"Wait, what?" Danny asked confused.

"I know what you want to talk about and I understand. Now, when a man loves a woman…"

"No, that's not what I have questions about!" Danny stated exasperatedly.

"Oh, it's not?" Jack asked, seeming somewhat confused. "Well then, what do you want to talk to us about?"

"I just had some questions about…ghosts."

"Oh goody! That's something I know even more about!" his father answered.

"Sweetheart, what kind of questions?" his mother asked, sounding concerned. Danny never had questions about ghosts.

Danny took a deep breath. Here it was, time to get his answers. "What do you think of ghosts?"

"What do you mean?" Maddie asked.

"Like what do you think of them? How do you feel towards them?"

"They're evil, foul, despicable beings that need to be exterminated from this earth and put back into the Ghost Zone where they belong!" Jack stated proudly as Danny's face paled. That was definitely not the answer he wanted. His parents were calling him evil, foul, and despicable, and they wanted him gone from this earth.

"Danny, are you all right?" his mother asked, seeing his paling face.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Do you feel this way about all ghosts?"

"Of course sweetheart, now why are you asking all these questions?"

"Well, what if Grandma and Grandpa were ghosts, would you feel the same way about them?"

"Why, have you seen them?" Jack asked excitedly as he looked about the room.

"No, but…"

"I think I know what this is about," Maddie answered. "You're worried about what will happen if you died and became a ghost. Danny, you have to understand that ghosts aren't nice and they're not pleasant. When certain people die they become ghosts and go into the Ghost Zone. These ghosts are naturally malevolent and angry at the world and the people in it because they can experience stuff that the ghosts no longer can, like food, fun, life. Therefore they try to destroy the joys of others because they feel that if they can no longer experience it, no one should be allowed to.

"So, to answer your question, if we saw the ghosts of your grandparents, yes, we would hunt them."

"Even if they were your own parents?" Danny asked, shocked. If they would hunt their own parents then they definitely would hunt him.

"Danny, did you not understand what I said? They wouldn't be the same grandparents that you knew before. They'd be evil, malevolent ghosts who would kill you without even giving it a thought."

"But what if they weren't?"

"Danny, all ghosts are evil. That's just the way it is," his father answered. "So, to protect the world, we have to capture all ghosts, no matter what."

Danny nodded his head slowly, understanding their logic, but not appreciating it. If they found out he was a ghost they'd probably use the same logic and get rid of him, not giving himself a chance to explain that he wasn't evil, that he was still human.

"Danny, are you sure you're all right? Why are you even asking these questions anyways?" Maddie asked, looking at her son, concern and suspicion present on her face.

"I just had a dream that we were eating dinner and Grandma and Grandpa's ghosts came into the room and you started fighting them and then threw them back through the portal while they kept screaming for you to stop, yelling that they wouldn't hurt anyone. I just wanted to know if something like that would really happen."

"Well first, I don't think Grandma and Grandpa are ghosts. They went quietly and peacefully, and ghosts are usually only made when a person is torn from life before they're ready to go. But, do you understand why we would now?"

Danny nodded his head. He did understand, he just didn't like it.

"Alright then, off to bed with you. You have school tomorrow and you need to get some sleep."

Danny walked off to his room and once he reached the door he turned around.

"Just one final question. What if Grandma and Grandpa were only like, half ghosts?"

"Half ghosts? What do you mean?" Maddie questioned.

"Well, like they were only half dead. What if they were still alive but were also ghosts?"

"Danny, that's impossible," his father answered.

"Is it?"

"Sweetie, no one can be half dead and half alive at the same time and no one can be a ghost and a human at the same time."

Danny nodded his head and walked out of the room, leaving his two confused parents sitting in the bed, wondering about Danny's curiosity. They soon let it rest however as they laid their heads down on their pillows and fell back to sleep, figuring they'd discuss it more in the morning.

Danny however went back to his bed and didn't fall asleep for another few hours, reliving the conversation in his brain. They didn't believe in half ghosts, so if they saw him, they'd think he was a ghost and wouldn't believe his protests that he was also a human. They'd hunt him and use all their experiments on him, hoping to exterminate him and put him back into the Ghost Zone, just like all the other ghosts. They wouldn't give him any special treatment because he was their son, just like they wouldn't give his grandparents any.

He realized that he couldn't tell them and that they could never find out that he was a ghost, no matter what. He was going to keep it a secret, just like he had decided before. Now he had proof that his parents would indeed care and would hunt and hurt him if they found out.

As he tossed and turned he finally slipped into sleep.

* * *

He woke up, surprised that he had actually managed to fall asleep after all the fears and thoughts that had plagued his mind during the night. He still felt tired as he got ready for school and walked downstairs to the kitchen, ready for breakfast.

As he reached the bottom of the steps he found himself face to face with an ecto-gun. He looked around it and noticed his father behind it, a look of disgust on his face. He looked to the right and noticed his mother also pointing an ecto-gun at him, the same look present on her face.

"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" he asked, his voice shaking with worry.

"Don't even try ghost."

Danny's eyes grew wide in fear and worry. Did they just call him "ghost"? "Wha-what are you talking about?" he stammered as he looked around the room. How could they know? There was no way.

"Don't play dumb with us ghost," his mother answered. "We figured it out after our conversation last night. You were asking us all those questions about what we'd do to ghosts that were family members because you are one. You died in that accident and have been a ghost ever since."

"No, no, that's not true!" Danny yelled, hoping to convince them otherwise. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"Don't lie to us ghost!" his father yelled as Danny flinched. He couldn't stand the way his parents continued to call him "ghost" like he didn't mean anything to them anymore. His father didn't call him son and his mother didn't call him sweetie, it was just ghost because that's all that mattered to them now.

"We're not stupid. Ever since the accident you've been acting weird and strange and in our conversation last night you all but admitted that you were a ghost by your questions and responses to our answers. After you died in that accident you wanted to just live like a normal person, try to live life like you did before, but we found out. You can't fool us."

"No, you don't understand, it's not like that!"

"Jack, get the knife." Danny's eyes widened. Knife?

Jack glared at Danny as he lowered his ecto-gun and walked over to the counter and pulled a knife out of the drawer and headed back towards Danny. He grabbed his arm and yanked it out.

"No, please don't," Danny begged, tears in his eyes.

Maddie just nodded her head and Jack placed the cold metal of the knife against his skin and scraped it across the underside of his arm as Danny screamed in pain. Red and green blood poured out of the wound and ran down his arm onto the floor. Jack and Maddie smiled.

"See, there's our proof: green ectoplasm. You are a ghost," Jack stated triumphantly as he pointed the ecto-gun at Danny's head again.

Danny figured it was time to level with them, to try to describe it to them. He knew it would be hopeless, but he really didn't have any other options.

"Alright, yes, I am a ghost, but I'm only a half ghost."

"As we told you last night, there's no such thing. You're just trying to feed us lies to stop us from doing our job so you can destroy the world."

"No, that's not true! There is such a thing! I'm proof! Look," he demanded as he gestured to his arm "there's red blood as well! If I was a full ghost wouldn't it be just green?"

"It must be taking a while to take full effect," his mother argued.

"No! I'm not a full ghost! I'm human too! And I'm your son!"

"You're not our son. Our son is dead," his father stated in a dead tone.

"No! I'm not completely dead! I'm right here! I have a pulse, I'm breathing! You have to believe me!"

Tears were pouring out of his eyes, his heart felt like it was shattered. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, what he was seeing. They had cut him without a second thought, without hesitation. They didn't care about him anymore. Everything he was afraid of before he fell asleep had come true.

"We'd never believe a ghost," Maddie thundered. "Everything you've been telling us this past week has been a lie, so why should we believe you now?"

"Because it's the truth! Please, you don't want to do this!"

"Oh yes we do. As we told you last night, it's our job. Goodbye ghost."

"No!" Danny screamed as he heard the whirring of the ecto-guns. He was engulfed in green light as he continued to scream.

* * *

Danny sat up in his bed, panting and breathing hard, his face covered in sweat. He looked around his room, trying to figure out what had happened. How could he be in his room? Wasn't he just shot by ecto-guns?

His door opened and his mother walked into the room, her face filled with concern. As soon as Danny saw her he started backing away from her, his eyes wide with fear.

"Danny, what's wrong?"

"No, just stay away from me!" he yelled. He debated flying out the window since they already knew, but something about the look on his mother's face told him not to.

"Danny listen to me, everything's all right. You were having a bad dream."

"What?" A nightmare? That's all it was? He looked at his arm where his father had cut him with the knife and noticed that there was no mark. He looked back up at his mother who was now sitting on his bed, her hand on his.

"You were having a nightmare. I heard you scream in your sleep and came running into your room. And you're covered in sweat too. Let me get you a towel."

His mother left the room to retrieve a towel and Danny took the opportunity to collect his thoughts. So it had been a dream. His secret was still safe, his parents still didn't know, they hadn't tried to eliminate him. He felt relieved, everything was still okay.

His mother entered the room and started wiping his forehead with a wet cloth. "Danny, what did you dream about?"

He had expected this question. For as long as he could remember his parents would comfort him by asking him to recount the dream while they told him exactly why it couldn't happen. The problem was, this time they couldn't tell him that it wouldn't happen, because he knew that it could.

"I dreamed that I died and became a ghost, but I wasn't a bad ghost. I didn't want to destroy the world or hurt people; I just wanted to spend more time with my family and friends. But you and Dad saw me and started yelling at me and pointed ecto-guns at me, and then Dad cut me with a knife. When I tried to explain that I wasn't bad you wouldn't listen to me and then you shot me with the ecto-guns, and then I woke up."

His mother sighed as she leaned forward to give him a hug. "I knew it was something like this. It's because of our conversation last night, isn't it? Listen sweetheart, there's nothing for you to worry about," she comforted, pulling away and holding his shoulders in her arms, looking right into his clear blue eyes. "There's no reason why you should be afraid of dying any time soon and even if you did, the chances are pretty good that you won't become a ghost. And even if you did, we wouldn't hurt you unless we had proof that you were evil. You're our son and we'd have a hard time hurting you even if we had to. So don't worry sweetie. I know your dream was probably frightening and probably scared you, but there's nothing to worry about. Your father and I will always love you and we'd have a hard time hurting you, even if you were trying to destroy the world."

Danny smiled at his mother and gave her a hug, feeling more comforted than he had been since their conversation.

"Now, I don't want you to give this any more thought, alright? You don't need to think about it. Now I think it's time for you to get ready for school." She gave him a kiss on the forehead and left the room.

Danny got up and headed into the shower. As the warm water poured over his body he thought about what his mother had told him. She said that they'd still love him and that they wouldn't want to hurt him if they knew he was a ghost. That didn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't hurt him, but they wouldn't want to, which gave him comfort.

He knew that he could never tell them. No matter what his mother said the frightening images in his dream were still there. He didn't want to risk it. If he could ever find some way to prove to them that some ghosts were good then maybe he'd tell them, but otherwise he was going to keep it a secret from them for as long as he could. At least now he knew that if they somehow figured it out by accident he wouldn't be completely screwed and that they'd still give him the benefit of the doubt.

As he ate breakfast he still felt somewhat depressed knowing that his parents would still injure him if they had to, but his outlook on the rest of his life had definitely brightened. Things would be okay.

* * *

A/N: So, did I have anyone going? Teehee, I had fun writing that dream. I don't know about you, but I agree with Danny...that dream would be enough to scare me out of ever telling them I was a ghost...which was kinda the whole point. I've always wanted a good, solid reason for why Danny wouldn't tell his parents, so here it is! Hope you agree!


	7. The Battle

A/N: Alright, same excuses as before for why it took so long. If you haven't heard them, it just sums up as lots of homework and no free time. And then, any free time I had went into my other stories. But, that's all okay now because it's posted now.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! I'm really glad so many of you liked the previous chapter! I really thought that Danny needed a really good, solid reason for why he wouldn't tell them, a concrete reason not based on purely feelings or thoughts, but more of a promise of something that could actually happen. That's why I had the conversation, to give him verbal proof that they would hunt a ghost and then the dream took that verbal proof and exemplified it, thus creating the basis of Danny's fear.

I also have some sad news. The next chapter will be the last. I know, it's sudden, but while mapping this out over the two weeks it took me to post this, I decided that it was for the best. I have a good spot to end it, and it just happens to be in the next chapter. I'm at both times sad and happy. It's really sad because this'll be my first finished fan fic, but I'm also happy because now I can start my next fic Secrets from the Past, which I've been wanting to start for awhile, but I promised myself that I wouldn't because three is already bad enough. So yes, I'm sorry to see it go, but all good things must come to an end.

* * *

Chapter Seven  
The Battle

Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked to the bus stop in silence, not really having anything to say to each other. Sam and Tucker kept looking at each other as well as at him like they wanted to say something, but not really knowing whether they should say it or not. Danny noticed this and knew that they probably wanted to say something about his ghost powers since that's what they'd spent the past week discussing.

It had now been a week since he started going back to school and every day the three of them had tried to figure out more, but didn't really know what they were doing. They had returned a few more times to the lab but didn't really find out anything new, much to their disappointment. There were still so many questions left unanswered.

"Guys, just spit it out, what do you want to say?"

Tucker and Sam tried to look innocent but upon receiving a glowing glare from Danny they dropped the innocent routine.

"We were just thinking that maybe we should talk to your parents," Sam replied.

"No way. We already talked about this. I told you about the conversation and the dream, isn't that proof enough?"

"Danny, we weren't talking about that. We were thinking that maybe we should talk to them about ghosts, get some information from them," Sam clarified. "We don't know anything about ghosts and if we want to find out what's going on with you we'll need to know something about them."

"Yeah, and you know that's one subject your parents love to talk about," Tucker added.

"A little too much. Are you sure? We may not get out of there for a few hours."

"Well, then we'll be really knowledgeable on ghosts. It's a sacrifice we'll have to make. I'm sure you're just as curious as we are about all this ghost stuff and we do want to figure you out, right?"

"Yeah. I'm just not sure whether I'm _that_ desperate."

The three of them laughed as they arrived at the bus stop and stopped talking about ghosts and instead turned their topic towards school and the homework they were supposed to do the previous night, the thoughts of what they were going to learn from the Fentons tickling their anticipation.

* * *

The three of them walked home from school, debating on how to bring the subject up to his parents.

"We can't just go up to them and say 'Hey Mom, Dad, tell us about ghosts,'" Danny argued.

"Why not?" Tucker asked. "It's not like they'd really hear us; they'd just hear the word ghost and then go off."

"Maybe for just that moment, but my mom will eventually start wondering why we asked in the first place. Plus, all the strange stuff that's been going on around the house is already looking suspicious enough; I don't want to add more to it."

"He's got a point," Sam stated. "We don't want to get them thinking about why Danny would ask such a question. The fewer connections between Danny and things related to ghosts the better."

"Alright then, so how do we do it?"

* * *

The trio walked into the house, preparing to put their plan into action. They'd passed a curious Mr. and Mrs. Fenton on their way through the kitchen and into the basement. They reached the portal and smiled as they heard slow steps down the stairs.

"So, this is the portal?" Sam asked, louder than she should have and with a slight fakeness to it.

"Yup. This is it, the final product of my parent's labor."

"Wow, it's so green and…swirly," Tucker stated with a confused expression, not really knowing how to describe the swirling green substance.

"How does it work?" Sam asked.

"You know, I don't know. I don't think my parents ever explained it to me."

"Well then you're in luck children!" Jack bellowed as he rushed over to the portal. "I just happened to overhear your conversation and don't you worry, I can explain it!"

"Oh joy!" Sam stated in mock excitement. "Now we'll know how this actually works!"

Jack beamed at them and rushed to set up three chairs near the portal as Maddie stared on from the foot of the stairs. Something just didn't seem right. Danny should know what he was getting himself into, so she couldn't really find any logical reason why they would be asking these questions. Besides, it all seemed a little rehearsed. Then she smiled. She knew what this was about. The three of them were trying to butter them up so they could ask for something. Well, they certainly were going about it the right way.

"Alright now, you three are in for a real treat!" Jack exclaimed excitedly as he clapped his hands together. "Now this is the Fenton Ghost Portal…"

For the next three hours Jack blabbered about anything remotely relating to ghosts. He discussed the ghost portal, ghosts in general, ecto-guns, and other ghostly inventions he was in the process of working on. You name it and Jack Fenton put a ghostly twist on it. Of course Tucker and Sam had their own questions regarding ghostly genetics, the powers ghosts had, what made people turn into ghosts, and what they were made of, to which Jack referred them to Maddie to answer. They learned that ghosts had no internal bodily structure or organs and they were made up of green ectoplasm. They were impervious to heat and cold and didn't need to breathe, eat, or drink. They were immune to all known forms of radiation and didn't even need to sleep. Unfortunately, they didn't know much about their genetics having never found a ghost to run tests on, but they assured them that once they started using the portal they'd have a ghost to experiment on in no time.

And so as the hours dragged on the three of them tried to stay awake, but they didn't think they could handle much more. There was only so much torture one could take and interesting though the subject matter was since it dealt with Danny, it wasn't interesting enough to keep them awake for three hours.

As Jack started describing yet another ghost invention that he dubbed the Fenton Thermos with his back turned to their snoozing figures a blue mist emerged out of Danny's mouth. Sam and Tucker looked at him curiously.

_What was that?_ Sam mouthed. Danny just shrugged his shoulders in return. Then the ghost portal started to swirl and two green octopus-like beings floated out of it as more mist emerged from Danny's mouth. They floated towards the three of them and picked up Sam and Tucker, using their tentacles to cover their mouths. Danny leapt out of his chair and went ghost, not sure of what he was planning on doing, but at least he had a better chance as a ghost.

He flew up to the two octopuses and punched each of them, sending them flying back into the wall. He looked at his fist, surprised that he was able to punch them that far. It didn't seem like he'd punched them that hard, yet they went flying across the room.

As he pondered his strength, the octopuses took advantage of his lack of attention and turned invisible while floating towards him. When he finally looked up he noticed that they were gone. They were gone, and they still had Tucker and Sam! His eyes glowed brightly but before he could do anything he felt a tentacle coil around his leg and throw him into the wall. He concentrated and managed to turn himself intangible before he hit the wall. He flew back in and kicked both of the octopuses, anger making his eyes glow brightly. No one took his friends and threw him into the wall, not while he could stop them. He started hitting them, tying up their tentacles, doing anything he could think of to make them release Tucker and Sam.

Finally he managed to wrestle his friends out of their hands. The octopuses, obviously angered that Danny had stolen their prey, started charging for them. Danny turned himself intangible and with great concentration, turned the others intangible as well, causing the octopuses to fly right through them. Danny dropped his friends into their chairs and flew towards the octopuses. He tied up their tentacles and punched them into the swirling Ghost Zone. Then he flopped down into his chair and turned back to human, completely exhausted.

Danny looked over at his friends, whose looks of terror were completely apparent on their faces. They were petrified stiff, staring at Danny in open mouthed awe. Danny gave them a small smile before slumping back in his chair, wishing that he could just fall asleep.

His father turned around and looked at them, his eyes smiling brightly. He didn't notice a thing. He didn't see his son transform into a ghost, didn't see the amazing display of fighting skills, didn't see Danny have his first battle with a ghost.

* * *

A/N: Now, I know the battle and the conversation before it went a little differently in the show but honestly, you'd all be bored if the conversation was exactly the same...and they never showed the battle, so I had full reign on that one, woot! Hehe. Anywho, hope you enjoyed Danny's first ghost battle!


	8. Destiny

A/N: Warning, this is going to be a very long author note, since it will be my last one for this story, tear.

Just a quick sorry to everyone for taking so long on this! I've written a lot of fan fic before that I never posted but I've never finished any, so this was really tough for me, especially since this really isn't an ending but it still needed closure and all that fun stuff. But, it's here now and that's all that matters, right?

And please check out my profile for a rather large summary on my next story. I don't want to put it in here since it kinda detracts from the story, but I do really want all of you to read it! I've put a lot of hard work into planning it, so I hope everyone will appreciate it!

And just a final thank you to everyone who read this and especially those who reviewed it! You guys mean the world to me and make me feel so good inside! You are the reason why I continue to write, so thank you so so much from the bottom of my heart!

Alright, my final note for this story. The goal of this story was to provide a firm background for not only me, but for the readers as well, of what exactly happened in the beginning that made Danny make the choices he did. I meant for it to explain exactly why he didn't want to tell his parents and why he decided to fight ghosts in the first place. I think these are crucial issues not only in analyzing the tv show, but in writing fan fic as well. His reasons and actions are so crucial that I wanted to set up a firm base so that I knew the exact reasons why Danny doesn't tell his parents. I also wanted to describe a possible theory (that I run with in the rest of my stories) for how Danny got his powers on a scientific level, and since my major deals with genetics, what better way to describe it than through DNA? I also wanted to discuss just common beliefs that I have regarding ghosts, such as their lack of internal organs or resistance to temperature, stuff like that.

I hope that, through this story, I set up that basis that I wanted. Of course, no one has to believe my basis or my ideas, but like I said, it was mostly for my purposes and for yours so that you'll know the underlying reasons for stuff that I write in later stories. In my opinion, everything Danny does, every action he takes; it all relates back to the Beginning.

And now, the final chapter.

* * *

Chapter Eight  
Destiny

For the next fifteen minutes Danny sat glued to his chair, just staring at his father as he continued to talk. What had just happened? What were those octopus things? Were those actual ghosts? Did he just fight them?

Danny decided that he couldn't stay silently listening to his father anymore. He needed to go upstairs and talk to Tucker and Sam. He wanted to figure out what had just happened, what he had just done.

"Hey Dad, could we possibly call it quits for now? I mean, this is really interesting and all, but we have homework, and it's getting really late."

Jack looked somewhat offended but when he looked at his watch his face filled with surprise. "I don't believe it! It's already time for dinner! Sam and Tucker, you're welcome to stay of course."

"Th-thanks Mr. Fenton," they thanked, still obviously shook up.

"I'll go see if Mom's done with dinner," Danny suggested as he got up and started heading for the door, still feeling extremely tired. He probably wouldn't even be able to make it through dinner without falling asleep at this rate.

Once they reached the kitchen Danny gestured towards the stairs and they started walking into the living room when they were cut off at the kitchen doorway by Mrs. Fenton.

"Alright, what just happened down there?" Maddie asked. Danny stopped dead in front of his mom and looked up, eyes wide with horror. Did she see what he'd just done?

"Wha-what are you talking about?" he asked, trying to remain calm, but inside his stomach was flipping in nervousness.

"Honestly Mrs. Fenton, I don't know what you're talking about," Tucker remarked, coming to Danny's rescue.

"Yeah, nothing happened," Sam assured innocently.

"Right. I saw the whole thing. So, what do the three of you want?"

"Wait, what?" the three of them asked in confusion.

"What do the three of you want? The only reason why you'd put on that little act for your father is if you wanted to butter him up to ask him for something so now I'm asking you, what do you want?"

The three of them sighed in relief as Danny thought quickly for a lie. "Well…you see Mom…there's this…"

"V for Vendetta's coming out on Friday and there's a premier for it at ten Thursday night. Tucker and my parents have already said that we could go." Sam supplied.

"Yeah, and so I was wondering if it would be all right if I went with them," Danny asked, reminding himself to thank Sam later.

"Ah, now everything makes sense. Is it supposed to be a good movie?"

"Phenomenal," Sam responded as Danny and Tucker looked at each other briefly. When they hadn't been talking about Danny's ghost powers, Sam had been talking about that movie.

"Well, I'll have to talk to your father, but I'm pretty sure that after your little charade he'll say yes. Just make sure you finish all your homework and things look pretty good."

"Sweet! Thanks Mom!"

"You're welcome. Now, don't get too involved in some video game or something upstairs because dinner'll be ready soon. And Tucker and Sam…"

"We've already been invited," Sam answered with a smile.

Maddie smiled back. "Alright. I'll call you when it's done."

"Thanks Mom." Danny dashed around his mother and up the stairs into his room, not stopping until the three of them were inside his room with the door securely locked and the music blasting out their conversation to the occasional eavesdropper.

"So, what just happened?" Sam asked as Danny walked over to his bed and flopped down onto it, exhausted.

"I think it was a ghost," Danny answered as he stared at the ceiling, trying to piece things together. It had all happened so quickly and it was all jumbled in his head.

"You mean, a real ghost?"

"Oh, and I'm not real?" Danny asked.

"No, I didn't mean that. I just meant that, it was a ghost other than you?"

"I think so."

"And, you fought 'em," Tucker pointed out.

"Yeah…"

"Alright, let's back up for a second and figure this out," Sam suggested. "What happened first? When did this all start?"

"Well, my dad was talking, for a long, long time, and then those ghosts came out of the portal."

"Wait, something happened before that. Didn't some blue mist come out of your mouth?" Sam asked.

"Oh yeah. What was that?"

"You're asking us?" Tucker asked. "You're the ghost."

"Haha. I know as much about ghosts as you do, which isn't a lot, even after listening to my dad for three hours."

"But what was it?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, but that wasn't the first time it's happened. I'll wake up at night and the mist will come out and I'll feel really cold, but then it'll go away. I just never thought anything of it."

"Maybe it's some kind of a warning system?" Tucker asked. "I mean, right after it went off, the ghosts appeared. Maybe it's to warn you there's a ghost nearby?"

"But why would I need to be warned if there's a ghost?" Danny asked.

"I dunno. I'm just throwing theories out there."

"Alright, so Danny's warning system goes off and then the ghosts appear and grab us," Sam recounted. "And then, you started fighting them."

"Yeah."

"Why'd you fight them?"

"I don't really know. I saw the two of you in danger and, I dunno, I knew I had to do something. It was just, instinct. I don't really remember much of the battle, I just remember trying to rescue you, and flying through a wall. I remember that too. But, when I saw them grab you, something just went off inside me and I knew I had to rescue you, because I could. I don't know if that really makes sense, but that's what happened."

"Well, you sure did save us," Tucker replied.

"Yeah. We owe you a huge thanks."

"No you don't. I would say it was nothing, but judging by the fact that I'm tired beyond all belief, I don't think I can say that in honesty."

Tucker and Sam smiled.

"Kids, dinner!"

The three of them stood up and walked downstairs, Danny realizing how hungry he was. That battle took a lot out of him. They walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen.

* * *

Later that night, Danny lay in bed, staring at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling, unable to sleep. There were too many thoughts that plagued his mind, too many things he needed to think about, to straighten out before this mind would give him peace enough to sleep. 

He continued to replay the fight in his head, wondering exactly what had happened. Why did he jump up with the intention of fighting them? It had just seemed so natural, like something he had to do. At the time, he didn't question the feeling, he just obeyed it. But now that he looked back on it, he couldn't see any reasoning behind his response.

Why would he have thought that he would be able to fight them? He'd never fought anyone, which was why he ended up in his locker so much. So why would he be able to handle two ghosts? Did it have something to do with being a ghost? Did he think that because he was a ghost he'd be able to take on another ghost? It didn't seem logical, and yet it felt right.

He thought about the actual battle. He had known exactly what to do. When to punch, when to turn intangible, where to fly, it had all come naturally to him. But, he'd never been in a fight in his life. Why would he know how to fight at all? Again, could it be because he was a ghost now? His parents had said that ghosts were inherently evil, but could they also be inherently good fighters as well?

He rolled over in his bed and stared out the window at the welcoming night sky. He sat up in his bed and went ghost, flying through the window and into the warm night air. He hoped a nice midnight flight would clear his head, help him think straight.

As he flew through the air, he realized that during the battle, he felt, for the first time since he got his powers, somewhat complete, like there was some gaping hole missing inside him before that had now been filled. Fighting the ghosts, saving his friends, it just all felt right.

Was this what he was supposed to do with his powers? Fight the ghosts? He recalled that right after the accident he had felt like a piece of him was missing, like there was something he needed to do with his powers. Was this it? Was he supposed to stop the ghosts that would come out of the portal that now connected the two worlds? It made sense. It explained how he knew how to fight the ghosts, and why he had a built in ghost sensor.

That was it. That had to be it. He was going to be the phantom fighter saving the town from other ghosts, like a dead version of his favorite super heroes. He was more than just Danny Fenton, he was Danny _Phantom_, and it was his duty to save Amity from the ghosts he and his parents had released.

He flew on top of the tallest building in Amity and sat on the roof, overlooking the city as the sun's first rays broke the horizon, reflecting off the windows of the buildings.

And yet, he wasn't nervous or frightened like he knew he should be. He was going to be fighting ghosts that most likely wanted to take over the world and hurt humans because of their jealousy, risking his life any time a ghost showed up to protect the town, and yet he wasn't worried. He knew it would be hard and he knew it was going to take a toll on him, both physically, emotionally, and mentally, but he was willing to accept that. After all, it was his fault that ghosts could escape from the portal anyways, since he was the one that opened it.

But as he thought back on the accident, he remembered the strange feelings he'd had. He had a feeling that he needed to help his parents, even though he logically knew that he couldn't and then he had another feeling telling him that going into the portal was the right thing to do, even though his common sense was screaming at him to get out. It was like destiny was pushing him, guiding his hand, forcing him along the path that would lead him to where he was now. He was destined to become a ghost, to fight to protect the town, to die.

The red, orange, and yellow rays of light poured over the city, demolishing the blues and purples of night as the stars faded to nothing in the brilliance of the sun. Danny rose and took off again, his mind still too busy to allow him sleep. So many questions raced through his head, so many possible scenarios, possible outcomes, possible battles, possible dangers. All the different ghosts he'd be fighting, all the evil plans he's be foiling, all flooded his brain as he accepted his calling. And as he flew through the pink and orange clouds he realized that the accident wasn't the end of his life; it was only the beginning.

**The End**

* * *

Special thanks to all my reviewers!

SummersSixEcho, epobbp, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, The Sleep Warrior, dArkliTe-sPirit, Ohka Breynekai, DP-shrine-in-closet-girl, Firefury, Horselvr4evr123, at-a-glance, DiscordianSamba. Ghostboy814, Kraven the Hunter, A random reader, AirGirl Phantom, animekitty47, brittagirl, Catmedium, chocolatemercury, iloveJesusJohnnyandDanny, Just call me Crazy, katiesparks, kdm13, linkmaste, Me The Anon One, Miss Selarne, Serenity the Fallen, Shadow49, silvermoonphantom, Stephen King Reincarnated, The Kirby Emerald, ZOEgirl Luver Christ Follower

You guys totally rock! Thank you so much!


End file.
